Chicago Bears: 5 Players who exceeded expectations
By Joseph Herff
David Montgomery, Running Back
A lot of fans expected David Montgomery to be a very good running back when the Bears drafted him in the third round of 2019, but many fans jumped ship after a lackluster rookie season due to just an overall bad offense.
Montgomery bounced back in 2020 though flashing to how good he can really be. He ran for over 1,000 yards this season and had over 1,500 rushing and receiving yards combined. Montgomery was a constant force on offense this season that was hard to stop even behind a still lackluster offensive line.
Although Montgomery was near the bottom in the NFL in yards before contact per attempt, he still was near the middle of the pack in yards per carry. This is due to his ability to get yards after contact as he was 14th in the NFL in yards after contact per attempt. If you take out running backs who had less than 150 carries, he was eighth in the NFL.
Next. Chicago Bears need to address the wide receiver corps. dark
On top of his ability to get yards after contact, his ability to break tackles is still outstanding as he broke tackles at the second-highest rate in the NFL tied with rookie running back Antonio Gibson.
Give Montgomery an offensive line, and he can be a top ten running back in the NFL. He already is near the top 15 with two starters out and a below-average left tackle. The Bears need to help him out next season.