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The New Orleans Saints made an interesting free agent pickup last week by signing Ty Montgomery, the wide receiver-turned-running back who rose to prominence with the Green Bay Packers. Montgomery struggled to find his footing in stops with the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets, due as much to uncreative playbooks as inexperienced quarterbacks under center like Sam Darnold and then-rookie Lamar Jackson.
He’s hoping to rebound well in New Orleans. Montgomery spoke with local media on a recent conference call, pointing to the success the Saints have found with other position-versatile talents as a major selling-point for him.
“Obviously they have guys like Alvin Kamara, they’ve shown what they can do with guys like him,” Montgomery said. “Taysom Hill, they’ve shown what they can do with guys like him, just other guys as well over the years. Coach Sean Payton and his offense, it’s just sort of been, I guess you could say notorious for putting guys in the best positions to be successful and being very creative on offense.”
Listed at 6-foot-even and 216 pounds, Montgomery has done most of his damage on the ground (with 224 rushing attempts) while running a variety of routes on passing downs (drawing 163 targets as a receiver). He’ll look to expand his portfolio in New Orleans and prove a better candidate to back up Kamara than, say, special teams ace Dwayne Washington or practice squad call-up Taquan Mizzell.
While fans shouldn’t expect Montgomery to push Latavius Murray off the field as the team’s number-two running back, there’s definitely value in having someone with experience on the plays and responsibilities Kamara has perfected in recent years. The Saints lost an element of their playbook when Kamara missed time last year, but Montgomery could be an effective band-aid should the Saints call his No. 88.
But in the meantime, Montgomery is preparing to handle whatever responsibility the Saints have in store for him — up to and including throwing blocks as a fullback so his teammates can get a clear running lane.
Montgomery continued, “I’ve always said I don’t believe I necessarily have to fit into a box. I can sit in a running back room and still do things as a wide receiver, I can sit in the receiver room and still do things as a running back. My ultimate goal’s just to be able to play and help the team in any way I can.”
And he didn’t go into this situation blind; Montgomery noted that he’s spoken with former teammates who spent time in New Orleans like Jimmy Graham, who talked up the Saints offense for its knack of putting players in position to max out their talents. But the proof he needed came from seeing what Hill, a former Packers training camp washout, could do in the right situation.
“Taysom Hill, we were actually in Green Bay together, so I already knew what kind of athlete he was. So to see him thrive, catch balls, run the football, throw the football,” Montgomery said, musing on the system Payton has built. “It’s just a place where anybody can thrive really.”
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