David Montgomery

Week 4 vs. Detroit Lions

The Bears' offense struggled to do much of anything in Week 3, so David Montgomery suffered as a result. Montgomery saw a season-low 10 carries for 34 yards while catching two of four targets for 21 yards. Montgomery's 12 touches were less than he had in any game last season, and he only had fewer in two games as a rookie in 2019. The Bears' offense shouldn't be quite that bad again in Week 4, especially in a favorable matchup against Detroit. The Lions have given up six total touchdowns to running backs this season, the most of any team. We're expecting Montgomery to bounce back in Week 4 in the low-end RB1 range.

Week 2 vs. Cincinnati Bengals

David Montgomery picked up where he left off last season. Montgomery had an amazing Week 1, finishing with 16 carries for 108 yards and a touchdown. However, his role as a receiver which increased last year has been diminished with the arrival of Damien Williams. Montgomery had just one target while Williams had five. Still, Montgomery is doing enough on the ground to make up for any points lost as a receiver. He gets a solid matchup this week against the Bengals who gave up 104 scrimmage yards and a score to Dalvin Cook in Week 1. We'd expect Montgomery to flirt with the 100 scrimmage yards mark in Week 2 as well. He should be viewed as a low-end RB1 play.

Fantasy Upside
David Montgomery had an impressive sophomore season, finishing just over 1,500 scrimmage yards with 10 total touchdowns, making him the No. 4 back in fantasy (half-PPR). He especially played well down the stretch in the Bears’ final six games, averaging 137.4 scrimmage yards while scoring 8 of his 10 touchdowns in that span. After an impressive finish, the Bears are aiming to get Montgomery more involved as coach Matt Nagy said “the goal” this season is to get Montgomery to 20 rushes a game. Montgomery also improved as a receiver last season, doubling his output in receptions as a rookie from 25 to 54.

Fantasy Downside
Montgomery’s increase as a receiver out of the backfield can be directly tied to Tarik Cohen’s absence. With Cohen returning this year, there’s certainly some doubt as to whether Montgomery can keep up the pace he had a season ago. It’s a small sample size, but in the three games with Cohen active, Montgomery averaged 51% of the offensive snaps. In the games after, he averaged over 80%. And not only is Cohen returning, but the Bears also added Damien Williams, who played well for the Chiefs before opting out of the 2020 season. And if Justin Fields plays in his rookie season, we can expect him to take some carries of his own.

2021 Bottom Line
Even with an extra game on the schedule, we don’t have Montgomery projected to reach the 1,500-yard mark like he did last season. Cohen’s return combined with Fields’ and Williams’ arrival will make it hard for him to have the same volume as a year ago. But the Bears still clearly like him if their “goal” is to get him 20+ carries a game. He should finish around the RB15 mark (half-PPR), making him a strong RB2 in 2021.