Vonta Leach and Jameel Cook have important roles with the Texans as they are both decent blockers and good receivers out of the backfield.  Leach is a big guy at 6’0″, 250 pounds and he likes to hit people.  Leach played in 16 games (12 starts) for the Texans last year and he carried the ball 2 times for 2 yards (1.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 25 passes for 108 yards (4.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Look for Leach to play a little bit more than Cook this season but they will split time to keep them both fresh.  Leach has now played in 50 games (22 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 2 times for 2 yards (1.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also has caught 36 passes for 188 yards (5.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs in his career.

Jameel Cook is a tad smaller than Leach at 5’10″, 237 pounds but he’s still effective at his job.  Cook played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Texans last season and he carried the ball 8 times for 24 yards (3.0 ypc).  He also caught 8 passes for 40 yards (5.0 avg) last season.  Cook has now played in 99 games (23 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 14 times for 43 yards (3.1 ypc).  He also has caught 81 passes for 486 yards (6.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs in his career.  He will do a good job for the Texans in 2008.

Converted linebacker Jon Abbate is the #3 fullback on the roster.  He’s got decent size at 5’11″, 245 pounds but he’ll likely have to make the team playing special teams as he’s well behind Leach and Cook.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B