Comparing Chicago Bears RB David Montgomery to 2019 Draft Class
If you remember 2019 running back draft class, you know that there was a lot of debate about which one the Chicago Bears would draft. They were going to take one once they got rid of Jordan Howard, and most accounts, myself included saw a big seven of,
Josh Jacobs, Miles Sanders, Darrell Henderson, David Montgomery, Devin Singletary Damien Harris, Alexander Mattison
The list above is how they went off in draft order. It is worth remembering the Bears sat tight In round two until Henderson got drafted, then they immediately traded up, as if to miss Harris and Mattison. So, now two years, when you look at the class, they are six of the top nine producers.
Benny Snell, Tony Pollard, Myles Gaskin have found roles as well but were drafted much later. Mattison has had more carries than Henderson to date, and the Rams drafted Cam Akers to supplant Henderson, so, for the top six we will use five of the top six draft picks as well as Mattison.
Below you can see their stats through two seasons accumulated and per game.
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Montgomery went fourth but is pretty clearly the second in all of the stats that you can see above. He is second in carries, yards and touchdowns to Josh Jacobs. He does beat out Jacobs in passing game work, though.
He leads all backs in catches and has 26 catches for 219 yards more than Josh Jacobs. He also has three more receiving touchdowns, to cut the overall TD deficit to two. Still, Montgomery has more catches than Miles Sanders, but Sanders has more yards and as many touchdowns.
Mattison has been more efficient in the pass game, but has not got nearly the raw production.
Overall, if you had to rank the top ten backs from the 2019 draft class, it would be fair to say
1. Josh Jacobs (1)
2. David Montgomery (4)
3. Miles Sanders (2)
4. Damien Harris (6)
5. Devin Singletary (5)
6. Alexander Mattison (7)
7. Myles Gaskin (10)
8. Darell Henderson (3)
9. Tony Pollard (8)
10. Benny Snell (9)
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Overall, it is pretty clear that the best value was Montgomery, while the most over-drafted was Henderson. Considering the Raiders drafted Jacobs 24th, and Montgomery was drafted 73rd, the Bears are likely happy with the outcome. Especially when you factor in the 24th pick was what Chicago traded to finalize the Khalil Mack deal. They may not have gotten Jacobs at 24, but the difference is too small to notice.