Chicago Bears: Five young players who could shine in 2021

David Montgomery – Running back

I know, I know. Everyone predicted David Montgomery to have a breakout year this season. While he is on pace for over 1,000 scrimmage yards, he has not had the season most thought he would. Most of that is not his fault, as for most of the year the offensive line could not run block at all. Still, some fell on him as his vision was faulty at times.

Yet, I think that with the Bears’ new offensive line, Montgomery has shown that he has elite potential. He still is amongst the league leaders in broken tackles, and he continues to run with anger and passion. He has also been huge for the Bears in the passing game, which is somewhere he will continue to grow and improve at.

I could see Montgomery being a top running back next year because of his dual-threat ability. He could see the kind of breakout year that Aaron Jones saw in 2019. Montgomery just needs a little space and can create huge runs with his sneaky quickness and excellent ability to break tackles. If he can improve his vision and decision making on his cuts, he could put himself in some great company within the upper tier of backs in the league.

His usage has gone up as the season goes on, and if he can continue to see games as he did against the Packers in Week 12 and the Lions in Week 13, he could be in for a huge year next year. I think that the offense needs to go through him because he can be that workhorse like a Dalvin Cook, Derrick Henry, or even a Christian McCaffrey type. I hope that whoever is designing the offense next year can run it through Montgomery and that the offensive line can become functional and consistent in their run blocking.

Montgomery, along with any of these young studs could shine in 2021. Of course, this could be an overreaction, but these players have shown some great talent and potential. All of these players should be utilized every week next year after what they have shown this year.