The Bears struggled to establish a running game — actually, any sort of offensive identity whatsoever — this season. Which wasn’t exactly an ideal situation for rookie running back David Montgomery, who the Bears traded up 13 spots to nab in the third round.
Montgomery had 889 yards on 242 carries, for an average 3.7 yards per carry, and six touchdowns. Which aren’t exactly spectacular numbers, but not surprising considering how the Bears run game never really got going.
Still, Montgomery was the 37th highest-graded rookie following the 2019 regular season, according to Pro Football Focus, ranking behind top-drafted rookie running back Josh Jacobs (4th).
The former Iowa State Cyclone broke 47 tackles on rushing attempts this year, the eighth-most among running backs. Despite this, it really wasn’t the best decision to trade up for him in the NFL draft considering the positional value and lack of breakaway runs (only 15.0% of his carries went for 15 or more yards in 2019, 45th among 50 qualifying backs).
Montgomery eclipsed 100 yards just twice in 2019 — an 135-yard performance against the Chargers in Week 8 and a 113-yard effort against the Vikings in Week 17. Montgomery had 20-plus rushes just four games this season, including those 100-yard efforts.
An important focus this offseason is fixing the ailing run game, which has been one of the downfalls on Chicago’s struggling offense. The Bears ranked near the bottom of the league in most offensive categories, including the running game, which was the sixth worst in the entire league. They averaged 91.1 rushing yards per game.
The Bears brought in offensive line coach Juan Castillo, who has experience as a run game coordinator, and have vowed to fix the run game — and offense — at all costs.
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