Chicago Bears: These sophomore players must improve to make playoffs

Chicago Bears David Montgomery could still become the face of the franchise.

David Montgomery may have been the Chicago Bears first player selected in 2019, but he was still a third-round draft selection. Montgomery was brought in to replace Jordan Howard as the primary ball carrier.

Matt Nagy wanted to have a more reliable pass-catching running back that instead of running downhill and through people, the runningback would evade defensive players in tight space. Jordan Howard saw his least productive season with the Chicago Bears under Matt Nagy. Howard averaged 3.7 yards per attempt according to pro football reference.

David Montgomery averaged the same yards per attempt his rookie year last season and the same amount of yards per touch (4.0). David Montgomery came into the NFL as a higher graded prospect than Jordan Howard did his rookie year.  With only having three fewer touches than Howard did in 2018, Montgomery needs to improve his yards per carry and become a greater force in the passing game.

The offensive line needs to do a better job of setting up rushing lanes for Montgomery. If Montgomery is to become the Kareem Hunt styled player the Chicago Bears have envisioned, he needs to force himself to be on the field more.

Hunt had 325 touches his rookie year compared to Montgomery’s 267 touches. The Chicago Bears need someone on offense to become an offensive threat that opposing defenses fear. Montgomery could become that player.

If Montgomery became the face of the franchise for the Chicago Bears, fans would already know how to support a running back being in the position. Instead of the Chicago Bears continually focusing on finding a quarterback, maybe they can focus on having a playmaker on offense that changes the game in other ways than catching passes.