Chicago Bears: Matt Nagy praises David Montgomery’s receiving skills
David Montgomery is catching the eye already for the Chicago Bears, who hope he can become a do-it-all player in the backfield.
The Chicago Bears made a big investment in David Montgomery by trading up in 2019 draft to make him their first pick and head coach Matt Nagy sounds confident the rookie running back can justify that decision.
Chicago drafted Montgomery to be a do-it-all back after he demonstrated the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield consistently at Iowa State.
Montgomery did not have a receiving touchdown for the Cyclones but averaged 8.2 yards per reception on his 71 career catches.
And Nagy has been impressed by what Montgomery has showcased in that regard during the Bears’ offseason program.
Nagy, per The Chicago Sun-Times, said:
"“He’s quiet. But he’s so driven, and you can just see how competitive he is, and he wants to be perfect on every single play. So he’s gonna practice the way he plays. And he’s making plays.“We always knew he had great hands. You don’t know how great of a route runner a college back is, but he’s a really good route runner… This kid can’t wait. [Neither can] Mike Davis and these other backs. They want to put the pads on.”"
Davis should prove a decent complementary back and actually had a reasonably good 2018 season as a receiver, catching 34 of his 42 targets, but he lacks Montgomery’s upside in that area of the game and may end up playing third fiddle to Montgomery and Tarik Cohen in the backfield.
That pairing has the potential to be one of the most dynamic running back duos in the NFL and, with the extremely creative mind of Nagy calling the plays, expect to see them in the backfield together on a regular basis.
Mitch Trubisky looked like a quarterback in need of another safety net in an up-and-down first season in the Nagy offense and in Montgomery the Bears have given him one who will confound defenses if his vision, elusiveness and receiving ability translates to the next level.