Is Chicago Bears RB David Montgomery better than Josh Jacobs
The Chicago Bears traded the 24th overall pick in a package to land Khalil Mack. The Raiders just so happened to use that pick on running back Josh Jacobs. Interestingly enough, the Bears still wound up taking a running back with their first pick. While they could have had Jacobs, we did a breakdown of that running back class and saw that David Montgomery joins Jacobs as a clear top two.
While the difference in draft slot makes Montgomery the better player, they are also close enough where you have to wonder if he is straight-up better.
Below you can see how Jacobs compares to Montgomery through two seasons.
| Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | From | To | AV | G | Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | Lng | Rec | Yds | TD | Y/R | Lng |
| 1 | Josh Jacobs | 2019 | 2020 | 16 | 28 | 515 | 2215 | 19 | 4.3 | 51 | 53 | 404 | 0 | 7.6 | 29 |
| 2 | David Montgomery | 2019 | 2020 | 15 | 31 | 489 | 1959 | 14 | 4.0 | 80 | 79 | 623 | 3 | 7.9 | 30 |
Jacobs has 256 more rushing yards, but 219 less in the passing game. They happen to have the same number of touches, giving Jacobs just a 37 yards advantage in yards from scrimmage. He also has just two more touchdowns combined when you add receiving and rushing TDs.
From a raw stat perspective, 37 yards and two touchdowns are not bigger than the draft value, but the slight edge goes to Jacobs. However, Montgomery may be creating more.
David Montgomery Advanced Stats compared to Josh Jacobs
Last season, Montgomery averaged 3.15 yards after contact per touch, per PFF. Jacobs was behind him at 2.82. Montgomery had a 22.7% breakaway run rate, while Jacobs had a 17.6% rate. David Montgomery had a 75.4 elusive rate, while Jacobs had a 56.2 rating. Lastly, we see Montgomery with 1.12 yards per route run, and Jacobs with 1.03.
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To be fair, in 2019 the roles were reversed and it was Jacobs who was more efficient. The reality is that when you even things out these two are much closer than their draft capital would tell you. Most would assume that Jacobs has been better, and it is not close, and it feels like that perception of round taken has to do with it. Jacobs may be better in the end, but it is not a big difference.