Chicago Bears: David Montgomery ranks among NFL’s elite in 2020

Don’t overlook the season David Montgomery is having for the disappointing 2020 Chicago Bears.

It’s tough to find positives this year — whether we’re talking life in general or the Chicago Bears. For some of us, both are one in the same. In this case, though, we’re obviously talking football. The Bears have been a disappointment, point-blank period.

However, the eternal optimist will look for those shining moments and consistent bright spots. Who knew, at first glance, that the Bears’ rushing attack would have anything to do with a bright spot in 2020?

After all, the offensive line play has been less than poor for the majority of games. Injuries have caught the Bears, sure, but flat-out subpar play has been the name of the game from the unit as a whole.

Quarterback play hasn’t helped the run game either, and neither has head coach Matt Nagy with his play-calling, while we’re at it.

But, one constant still remains: David Montgomery is a very, very good running back — and nothing can logically sway that fact from standing true.

Dalvin Cook and Derrick Henry have been arguably the two best running backs in football this year. There’s no denying that. They have also had far superior running lanes than a guy like Montgomery. Yet, he finds himself within the top five in terms of missed tackles forced.

Coming in 20 behind Cook may seem like a huge margin, but it says more about the Vikings running back than it does Montgomery. Chicago’s starting running back is no. 4 in all of football in this category, and that’s something to be proud of.

Not only has Montgomery been great at forcing would-be tacklers to whiff, but he’s been able to do it both running and catching the football. Believe it or not, Montgomery has been one of the top pass-catching backs this year.

Montgomery ranks no. 9 in the NFL among running backs with 39 receptions this year, which is impressive and necessarily, considering Tarik Cohen was lost for the season early on. It makes sense that Montgomery is also no. 9 in targets among running backs.

It wasn’t that long ago that the Chicago Bears desired a starting running back that could catch the ball and reliably gain yards after the fact. Montgomery has done a nice job doing so, and has been far better overall than most give him credit for.

The 31st ranked Bears offense may be an embarrassment, but Montgomery has done more than enough with the opportunities he’s been given. He’s done enough to earn the respect of one of the NFL’s better all-around backs. With 938 total yards in 12 games, Montgomery will likely end up over 1,300 yards from scrimmage this season and, all things considered, that’s quite an accomplishment.

Keep sleeping on Montgomery, but know that you’ll be in the minority. This guy has it, but will the organization ensure the offense catches up?