The running back position was seen as the weak-link on the offensive side for the Bears heading into the 2019 season. After trading running back Jordan Howard to the Philadelphia Eagles and drafting his replacement, did they do enough to improve the position not only for last season, but moving forward?

Here are the grades for each Bears running back for the 2019 season:

David Montgomery: B-

The crown jewel of the Bears 2019 draft class, the third-round selection was billed as the “missing piece” on offense whose skill set was the perfect fit in coach Matt Nagy’s offense. Montgomery’s rookie season, however, didn’t exactly take off like many hoped.

Taking over for Howard, who was traded last offseason, Montgomery struggled to get into a flow early in the season primarily due to his questionable usage, only carrying the ball an average of 12 times through the team’s first six games. When he did get the ball, Montgomery chose to show patience when finding the hole instead of bursting through, which burned him from time to time behind an offensive line ranked 29th in run blocking by Football Outsiders with 3.86 adjusted line yards.

Still, the former Iowa State Cyclone showcased his bruising running ability nearly every carry, refusing to go down on first contact and even carrying multiple defenders for five or more yards. His season was disappointing considering the expectations prior to the season, but a significant amount of blame falls on the play calling and offensive line woes. He finished the season with 242 carries for 889 rushing yards, averaging 3.7 yards per carry (ranked 41st in the NFL among players with 100 carries more).

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