Houston Texans trade up, select Woody Marks in 4th round of 2025 NFL Draft

The Houston Texans have selected USC running back Woody Marks with the No. 116 pick in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Marks spent his final college season with the Trojans after playing the first four seasons of his college career at Mississippi State, showing capability as a runner and receiver.

The Texans made a trade with the Miami Dolphins for No. 116. They sent the No. 179 overall pick this year, as well as a 2026 third-rounder, to Miami in exchange for Nos. 116 and 224 in 2025.

Marks rushed for a career-best 1,133 yards and nine touchdowns while also adding 47 catches for 321 yards with the Trojans this past season. He was a second team All-Big Ten selection for his performance.

Overall in his college career, Marks recorded 3,016 yards rushing and 31 touchdowns in addition to 261 receptions for 1,546 yards and five touchdowns. He returned 11 kickoffs for 231 yards (21.0 average) and recorded at least one catch in the first 56 games of his career.

The 5-foot-10 running back immediately made an impact during his true freshman season in 2020, starting in eight games. He set the Mississippi State single-season mark for receptions by a freshman and by a running back (60). He started in 44 of 53 games througought his five seasons.

Marks played high school football for Carver in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was a four-star prospect in 2020. He ranked as the No. 138 overall player and No. 17 running back in the cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Woody Marks

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein provided some additional analysis on Marks in his recent scout of the running back’s draft profile. He noted his strengths as being his patience waiting for his blockers combined with his quickness.

Perhaps Marks’ best ability is what he does as a pass catcher and that could be an area he contributes in the NFL. Zierlein sees his potential as being a “complementary back” who can contribute on passing downs.

“Marks balances patience with decisiveness, setting blocks into defenders and then bursting past the collision,” he wrote. “He glides through lanes with good vision and enough shake to create missed tackles over the first two levels. He lacks breakaway speed in the open field and contact power between the tackles.

“He’s highly experienced and has sure hands as a pass catcher, with the ability to elude the first tackler in space. Marks projects as a slashing complementary back capable of finding yardage and adding value on passing downs.”