Chicago Bears: Rookie RB David Montgomery continues to shine at camp

David Montgomery continues to shine at Chicago Bears training camp. He is expected to play a major role in the offense as a rookie this season.

Mostly due to the Khalil Mack trade, the Chicago Bears did not have much draft capital to work with in the 2019 NFL Draft. That being said, they did a nice job of getting the most out of what they had.

In particular, their third-round selection of running back David Montgomery is standing out as a fantastic pick. Montgomery is a talented back who is consistently dominating in training camp. After trading away Jordan Howard, the Bears have an obvious need for a guy like Montgomery on the roster and I fully expect him to play a major role as a rookie in 2019.

Montgomery has been the talk of Chicago Bears training camp, standing out amongst the offensive playmakers on a daily basis. That has only continued to be the case, according to Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic.

“The (Bears) went through a lot of situations, including an end-of-game scenario that required them to run for a first down,” Fishbain wrote. “Montgomery showed off his footwork and finishing ability at the end of a long run that had Tarik Cohen and Taylor Gabriel sprinting from the sideline to celebrate.”

Bears offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich loved what he saw out of Montgomery on that play and appears to be excited about the rookie running back as a whole.

“When you finish with a forward lean in the four-minute situation and a bunch of o-linemen were finishing over the top of him, I love to see that,” Helfrich said, according to Fishbain. “Guys are excited when you break a tackle and finish the drill and end the game, the simulated game that we were trying to make happen there.”

"“Cautiously very, very optimistic. I like him a lot,” Helfrich said of Montgomery. “I like him a lot. Unbelievable guy, great mentality. Is constantly asking questions. If he does something well he wants to make sure he saw it correctly, didn’t just get lucky. He’s a perfectionist, competitor. He’ll run the ball well. I’m very excited about him."

It is not surprising to hear rave reviews about Montgomery in training camp. He was undoubtedly one of the best running backs in the 2019 NFL draft class and undoubtedly has a bright future going forward.

The Iowa State product is a smart and instinctive runner who always seems to find the right hole and has the quickness to get there. He is not the most explosive runner in the open field, but he has the short-area quickness to make defenders miss in space. Montgomery is also a powerful back who finishes strong and shows fantastic natural contact balance. Simply put, he is an incredibly difficult player to get on the ground.

Montgomery can obviously make an impact in the run game, but he is also a tremendous pass catcher out of the backfield. He is a smart and crisp route runner who can create space against most linebackers and is a natural hands catcher, consistently grabbing the ball away from his body. Montgomery also does a nice job of getting upfield quickly after the catch.

Simply put, David Montgomery is one of the best offensive skill position players in the 2019 NFL draft class. He is also an NFL ready running back who will fit Matt Nagy’s offense extremely well. Make no mistake about it, the Chicago Bears have found a legitimate franchise back to work with.