British Brooks may be the Texans’ most unusual chess piece heading into training camp, and his offseason body change only adds another layer to the puzzle.
Houston’s offense is heading into a second year under Nick Caley with a clear idea: take some of the load off C.J. Stroud and spread responsibilities across a roster built around specific jobs. The Texans have spent the offseason leaning into that approach, collecting players with distinct skill sets instead of piling up interchangeable depth.
Brooks fits that idea better than almost anyone. He’s part running back, part fullback, part wingback, and the kind of backfield utility piece Caley needs to make the system work. In I-formation sets last season, Brooks was the lead blocker, charging downhill on power runs and taking on the first defender in front of him.
Even so, his offensive workload stayed tiny. Brooks logged just 73 offensive snaps out of roughly 1,300 plays on offense, with Houston using 11 personnel at the second-highest rate in the league at 71%.
Those one-back, one-tight-end looks left little room for a traditional fullback to matter. That made special teams his main lane.
That’s why Brooks matters anyway: on a 53-man roster, flexibility is currency. His blocking, special teams value, and ability to carry the ball give the Texans options with how they line up and who they keep.
Last season, Houston used him mostly in 21 personnel, with two backs and one tight end. It was a rare look, but one that let the Texans get Blake Fisher involved, get a hat on a hat, and put Brooks against a smaller linebacker. When Fisher was on the field against the Baltimore Ravens, Brooks was right there in the backfield behind him.
Now Brooks has added a wrinkle of his own. In an interview with Texans Radio earlier this month, he said he lost 17 pounds this offseason, which caught John Harris and Marc Vandermeer off guard.
That kind of change naturally raises a question: is Brooks trying to become more of a running back and less of a classic fullback? He handled 17 carries last season, including six in goal-line or short-yardage situations.
Most of those came in Week 18, when the Texans rested Woody Marks and Nick Chubb. Brooks ran 13 times for 63 yards in that game, and while the offense was heavily rotated and sluggish, he still played with the kind of downhill edge you’d expect from a fullback asked to do running back work.
He was actually more effective reading the defense and finding holes out of shotgun than with Davis Mills under center. That matters for how Houston might use him going forward.
Caley’s background as a tight ends coach also shapes the decision. If Brooks is going to stick, it may be easier for Houston to keep a fourth or fifth tight end than a blocking-only back who doesn’t regularly carry the ball. Brooks can play fullback, but the Texans are better served if he can win a job against Jawhar Jordan than if he has to fight multiple tight ends for a spot.
The tight end idea, though, is not really the answer. Brooks is 5-foot-11 and played only two snaps at tight end last season.
He is a much better blocker from the fullback spot than Cade Stover, especially when he’s coming full speed, and he brings more reckless abandon to the job. Even so, his blocking still needs work before his third season.
That leaves Brooks in a real roster battle this camp. If he stays at fullback, he’s fighting to justify a specialized role. If he shifts fully to running back, the roster math changes fast.
The Texans are likely to keep seven total players between running back and tight end. Based on the average across the league in 2025, that could break one of two ways: four running backs and three tight ends, with David Montgomery, Woody Marks, Jawhar Jordan, Brooks, Dalton Schultz, Marlin Klein, and Foster Moreau; or three running backs and four tight ends, with Montgomery, Marks, and Brooks at running back, and Schultz, Klein, Foster Moreau, and Brevin Jordan at tight end.
The second option looks stronger. Brevin Jordan adds speed and versatility, while Moreau and Klein bring blocking that helps the scheme. However it shakes out, Brooks’ role should grow in 2026 if Houston’s offense keeps moving in the direction Caley wants.
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