David Montgomery signed a three-year deal with the Lions worth $18 million. We saw what Jamaal Williams was able to do in this offense with a league-leading 46 green zone touches. Does Montgomery have the same sort of upside in Detroit?
Montgomery was a highly sought after 2019 rookie pick due to the opportunity he was slated to have in Chicago as the only running back with a pulse. This thesis mostly proved true in his four years with the Bears. Montgomery handled 56% of the Bears’ total RB rushing attempts in the four years he played in Chicago. 
This volume shined through in 2020 when he was a league winner, averaging 25.7 PPR from Weeks 12-17.
But Montgomery has always struggled with efficiency. Since entering the league, he has not profiled as a back from whom we would expect extreme efficiency.
Montgomery did not pop in any of the drills at the combine, but he was still productive in college and had the size to be drafted early in the third round of the NFL draft.
But despite the draft capital, we have never seen Montgomery have more than 0.9 fantasy points over expectation in a season. He is consistently at the bottom of the league among RBs in that category. Twenty-eight of Montgomerys 30 career touchdowns have come from a distance of 14 yards or closer. Of course, this is not all Montgomerys fault. The Chicago Bears have been a consistently terrible team during his tenure, making it all the more difficult to break free for long runs and limiting his scoring opportunities.
Will Montgomery’s new situation with the Lions allow him to reach heights we never saw with the Bears.
