David Montgomery 3rd round pick in 2019 out of Iowa State. Is a model of consistency. Here is the breakdown per year of how he produced. In 2019, 889 yards, 6 TD, 2020 1070 yards 8TD, 2021 849 yards 7 TD, 2022 801 yards 5TD. This is production out of a position where you're usually scraping the barrel to find something. A starter for 3 of the 4 years. For every piece they brought in he beat out: Tarik Cohen, Ryan Nall, Lamar Miller, Damien WIlliams, Khalil Herbert, Darrynton Evans, and Tristen Ebner. With a new regime now in Chicago, Montgomery was never going to get resigned and ultimately that may be the end of Khalil Herbert as well in Chicago, only time will tell. Unlike Herbert though, Montgomery has the new landing spot in Detroit. With receiving upside and not many other running backs on the roster, expect him to be used early and often. As well as these other reasons below.
REASON TO BUY
The Detroit Lions runnings back on the roster after Montgomery are Jermar Jefferson, Craig Reynolds, Mohamed Ibrahim, and Jahmyr Gibbs. With really Gibbs as his only competition for snaps Montgomery should fill the role of Jamaal WIlliams and do it more efficiently on a play-by-play basis. He may not be able to get the touchdown total as high as Williams did last year but it should be made up for the yardage he gains.
Another huge reason to buy Montgomery is he has only missed 5 games in his career due to injury. His body heals fast and has avoided the major injuries that will knock you out for over a year. The last point I will make is he has 915 rushes in his career and 155 receptions. He is a model of consistency that shouldn't hinder you at all from getting him from impatient Monty owners. Should you overpay?
REASON TO SELL
For some of the reasons above, this is exactly why you should sell Montgomery. His model of consistency averages out to 902.25 yards per year and 6.5 touchdowns per year (rushing stats only). While this is good, Montgomery almost always gets overdrafted in redraft and dynasty formats because many think he can make the next step. At 25 years old he is in the prime of his career and even in the new landing spot, he has competition.
As a member of the don't draft Monty fan club because I can always talk myself out of him, it is unfair because I didn’t like his inconsistency in fantasy. Some games he can put up 30 points and then end up with 3 games in a row with 5 or 6 points. I need more from the running back position than that. So I usually go in a different direction.
VERDICT
Bob Miller’s Dynasty Dilemma (please link) on Jahmyr Gibbs gives us reasons to buy and sell him but the question is will Gibbs get the Deandre Swift treatment and not get used, or will they buy in and let him be the back he is, a receiving and outside runner that is in open space would dominate. If anything from last year tells us anything, Montgomery is going to be heavily involved. Gibbs being a receiving threat does not scare me off of Montgomery for the fact of the 155 receptions David has already. I think they will be patient with Gibbs, he will get his time but Montgomery will start and finish most drives, in my opinion, this year.
In redraft leagues he is an easy pickup for me, I’m willing to get hurt again. In Dynasty, he is probably a hold because you don’t want to sell him for cheap because of Gibbs but you can wait and see what the backfield looks like during the season to see when to sell him if you really want to. David Montgomery is a buy.
BUY
Cody Folden joined the Dynasty Pros team in 2023. He plays in many dynasty leagues but dabbles in other leagues like devy, contract, and scouting leagues. He loves to dive deep into learning about prospects coming up through college and seeing them thrive when they get to the league.