David Montgomery trade: 3 ripple effects for Texans' draft plans and NFL free agency

The Houston Texans wasted no time kick-starting their offseason on Monday morning, first sending offensive lineman Tytus Howard to the Cleveland Browns for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and then acquiring running back David Montgomery from the Detroit Lions for another offensive lineman, Juice Scruggs, as well as fourth- and seventh-round picks.

With the most wide-open draft class in recent memory and lack of real top-end talent in free agency, it makes sense that we'd see an uptick in trade activity this offseason as teams look for other ways to improve their rosters. Two playoff hopefuls making major shakeups in early March, however, qualifies as a surprise — especially considering that Houston's biggest question mark was already their offensive line, a group that's underwhelmed for two straight seasons now and got humiliated in a Divisional Round loss to the New England Patriots back in January.

The Texans are clearly signaling that an offensive makeover is in order. But what will that amount to in the crowded AFC? And what could it mean for his this year's draft and free agency ultimately shake out?

The Joe Mixon era in Houston is officially over

The writing was on the wall for Mixon for a while now, as his health remained in doubt after missing the entire 2025 season with a mysterious foot injury. Mixon will turn 30 in July, and the Texans could realize some $8 million in cap savings by cutting him this offseason. Bringing Montgomery in is confirmation that said release is only a matter of time.

But that creates a vacancy in Houston's backfield. Woody Marks acquitted himself well enough as a rookie, but he's not an every-down star, and his pass protection in particular was ugly at times in ways that hung CJ Stroud and an already-struggling line out to dry. Montgomery is rock-solid in that particular department, and he proved last season in Detroit (4.5 yards per carry) that he still has at least some juice as a rusher despite approaching his 29th birthday.

This gives Houston a credible top two, plus another interesting youngster in Jawhar Jordan. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the Texans add another body at the position at some point, but it would likely be with a Day 3 pick or in undrafted free agency (or a cheaper free agent flier like, say, Keaton Mitchell or Antonio Gibson).

How Texans trades could shake up NFL free agency

If Houston has crossed running back off its to-do list (for the most part, at least), where might they pivot? Offensive line feels like the obvious answer — it was a unit that needed work even before it lost its most versatile player in Howard plus valuable depth on the interior in Scruggs. The Texans' line now consists of Aireontae Ersery and ... not a whole lot else, at least in terms of proven, quality starters.

Both right guard Ed Engram and right tackle Trent Brown are free agents this offseason. Do the Texans plan on trying to bring either of them back? And what about a potential upgrade over Jake Andrews at center? Houston still has a pick in each of the first four rounds, but the draft alone won't be able to answer all of those questions.

Which points to Nick Caserio making at least one major splash in free agency. Maybe the plan is to lock down Ingram at guard, draft a potential right tackle of the future at No. 28 overall and make a run at Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum or somebody else. But if you're a team also hoping to acquire offensive line talent this offseason, you're now even more worried about competing with Houston.

Detroit is Jahmyr Gibbs' backfield — but Lions still need to add at RB

I have to hand it to Brad Holmes here. Montgomery made it clear that he wanted more opportunities, opportunities that he simply wasn't going to get with Detroit having so many other needs and Gibbs blossoming into one of the best backs in the NFL. Considering that lack of leverage, landing a fourth-round pick plus useful offensive line depth in Scruggs feels like a tidy piece of business.

Of course, it still means that the Lions need to find a new backup for Gibbs. That's not the hardest problem in the world to solve: Gibbs is a monster, and running back has the highest hit rate late in the draft of any position. But it adds another item to the to-do list, and Detroit likely won't be done looking for interior offensive line upgrades despite adding Scruggs.