Chicago Bears: David Montgomery advanced stats review

Looking into how David Montgomery compares to other running backs through two years can give fans the satisfaction in knowing that Monty compares favorably to a lot of running backs who have broken out from this point forward.

Beyond that, it has been tough to gauge Montgomery due to his offensive line play and offensive situation. Some advanced stats can do a good job of individualizing the picture of the player, and we can do that to try to judge how good he has been independent of other variables.

For this excesses, we took the 21 running backs who had 150 or more carries last year and see how Montgomery stacks up. The 21 RBs we will compare Montgomery to include.

Nick Chubb, Dalvin Cook, Derrick Henry, Kenyan Drake, Todd Gurley II, David Montgomery, James Conner, Miles Sanders, Aaron Jones, Antonio Gibson, Ezekiel Elliott, Devin Singletary, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Ronald Jones, Alvin Kamara, Jonathan Taylor, Kareem Hunt, James Robinson. Josh Jacobs, Mike Davis, Melvin Gordon III

Yards After Contact Per Attempt

With the help of PFF, we can look at yards after contact per attempt. This is a good one to leave it much more on the RB and his efforts, even if the line is poor. In this, David Montgomery ranked 10th at 3.15. The top backs in this area were Nick Chubb and Derrick Henry at 4.06, and 3.94. Still, names below Montgomery in this area include Josh Jacobs, Ezekiel Elliott, James Conner, Kenyan Drake, and Todd Gurley.

10th out of 21 backs puts him about in the middle of the pack of this group.

Missed Tackles Forced

Yards after contact is great, but if you are not even getting touched because you forced a missed tackle, that is even better. This combines jukes and shedded tackles through contact. In this area David Montgomery ranks fourth.

Only Derrick Henry, Dalvin Cook, and Nick Chubb have missed more tackles in 2020. That is good company. He was at 54 last year, where Henry led the way with 75, Cook had 68, and Chubb had 59. Still, Miles Sanders forced just 29 missed tackles last year.

Elusive Rating

Elusive rating looks at just the ability to miss contact. David Montgomery ranks fourth here behind just Chubb, Henry, and Mike Davis of all names. Dalvin Cook had more elusive moves, but on a per carry basis, Montgomery had more elusive misses per touch. Kenyan Drake, Todd Gurley and Jonathan Taylor were some of the lowest on this list.

Breakaway Run

Thanks to PFF, we are able to look into the number of rushes that go for 10 yards or more, and 15 yards or more. In runs of 15 yards or more, Montgomery ranks 13th. He ranks 12th in rushes of 10 yards or more. This not the area he excels in, although a lot of the usual suspects such as Conner, Gurley, Sanders and Ronald Jones were below him. Derrick Henry, Jonathan Taylor, and Nick Chubb were the best at getting into the second level.

First Downs Created

Whether it is first and 10 or third and 1, getting a first down is all that matters. David Montgomery ranks sixth in first downs created. Of this group only Henry, Cook, Taylor, Elliott and Jacobs had more first downs. Considering the offense around him, Montgomery churning out first downs is impressive. Sanders, Mike Davis, and Antonio Gibson ranked lowest here.

Yards Per Route Run

Then, there is receiving game value. Montgomery ranks 9th in yards per route run. He does bring enough value to the passing game. Alvin Kamara leads this group to the surprise of no one, but Jonathan Taylor is right behind followed by Aaron Jones. Dalvin Cook and Antonio Gibson.

Derrick Henry and Melvin Gordon were the least efficient pass catchers.

Overall

If you rank David Montgomery in every category, then assign rankings to each group, the following is how the total ranking for every back of each area mentioned above.

Nick Chubb
Dalvin Cook
Derrick Henry
Aaron Jones
David Montgomery
Alvin Kamara
Jonathan Taylor
Kareem Hunt
James Robinson
Josh Jacobs
Mike Davis
Melvin Gordon III
Antonio Gibson
Ezekiel Elliott
Devin Singletary
Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Ronald Jones
James Conner
Miles Sanders
Kenyan Drake
Todd Gurley II

Using these advanced metrics, you could argue that Montgomery is the one of the five best running backs in the NFL. Kamara may be better in the passing game and that type of value and versatility is likely worth more, but as an overall running back from every area, he has a more sound game.

It is not surprising to see Gurley, Drake, Sanders, Conner, and Jones ranks as some of the more inefficient backs of this group as well.

Still, if you concede Kamara, and put Chubb, Cook, Henry, Jones, and Kamara ahead of Montgomery it is pretty fair to start the debate from there of running backs that were better in 2020. Of course, with a healthy Christian McCaffrey and other factors things will change, but last year he was arguably the sixth most valuable running back.