David Montgomery

In 2020 he shredded subpar run defenses down the home stretch to finish as the RB4 on the season. He beat-up on a few bad defenses last year, just not to the same degree as he did in 2020. The new coaching staff has historically used the committee approach at RB, Khalil Herbert shined in Montgomery's absence last season. He finished as an RB1 twice in the four games that Monty missed. Free agent signing Darrynton Evans and sixth-round draft pick Trestan Ebner both have 4.4 forty speed and pass-catching ability, similar to former Bear Tariq Cohen, but bigger.
x "It's clear the Bears believe in Khalil Herbert, while Trestan Ebner has looked impressive in training camp. I'm expecting there will be more of a share in the backfield alongside David Montgomery." per @CEmma670
Currently, day-to-day with an unspecified injury (8/11).

David Montgomery finished as the RB12 and RB6 in fantasy points per game in each of the last two seasons, surpassing expectations. The Bears' receiving weapons are depleted outside of Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet, so there's an easy pathway for plenty of check downs weekly. With Fields under center, he saw 4.75 targets per game, which would be a new career-high if that repeats this upcoming season. The problem for Montgomery is the new regime has no previous ties to him. He's seen an 80-90% opportunity share over the last two seasons, which has helped fuel his fantasy stock. Still, new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy comes from a system in Green Bay that hasn't pushed Aaron Jones over the 60% opportunity share mark since 2020. It's conceivable Montgomery will lose snaps on early downs to Khalil Herbert or Darrynton Evans and routes to Trestan Ebner. If that comes to fruition, he's better viewed as a high-end RB3 with low-end RB2 upside.

There's a new GM, Ryan Poles, in Chicago. It's unclear if Monty is their guy. Even if he is, the Bears' offense will probably struggle. They failed to address a leaky offensive line this past offseason. And if anything happens to Justin Fields, it will be Trevor Siemian or Nate Peterman running the offense. I want no part of Monty or the Bears' offense in 2022. Avoid.

Considering that Montgomery missed four games with injury and played on one of the worst offenses in the league, it was amazing that he finished the year with 1,071 yards from scrimmage and 7 TDs. He should be a great fantasy player in 2022, if Justin Fields progresses and gives the offense some balance. There is talk that there could be more of a split with Khalil Herbert, but Montgomery figures to be the lead back in that timeshare.

Volume is a big driver of his value, but with new coaching regime and expected run scheme changes, don't be surprised if backup Khalil Herbert is more involved