The knock on former Bears running back Jordan Howard was that he wasn’t a reliable pass catcher, which is something that is required of a running back in Matt Nagy’s offense.
So after trading Howard to the Eagles, the Bears went out and got their dual-threat running back in David Montgomery, who is just as elusive on the ground as he is in the passing game.
While he’s yet to play a game for the Bears yet, he’s already turned heads at offseason workouts. Specifically, as a pass catcher.
“We always knew he had great hands,” Nagy told reporters during minicamp. “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.”
Montgomery might look familiar when he gets out there, as he’s drawn comparisons to a former Bears great that’s excelled both on the ground and as a pass catcher.
“Somebody after the [draft] compared him to [Matt] Forte,” offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said. “That’s pretty rare air around here. They gave him the compliment — and hopefully Matt Forte thinks this is a compliment — of maybe not a 10 anywhere, but a lot of 9s.”
While it’s a little early to start comparing Montgomery to Forte, that’s the kind of running back that can thrive in Nagy’s offense. While Montgomery will be sharing carries with Tarik Cohen and Mike Davis, he should earn a bulk of those carries.
The Bears wrapped their offseason program last week, and they’ll report to training camp in late July.
