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While he may skirt the NFL’s too-strict rules on jersey numbers and get away with wearing No. 88, Ty Montgomery doesn’t play wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints. He’s every inch a running back, even if the Saints coaching staff is open to trying him out at a variety of alignments. Based off what some of Montgomery’s coaches had to say, that’s the only logical move.
“Extremely good player,” said Saints receivers coach Curtis Johnson. “He’s been spending most of time in the running backs room. I love what I see. He has great hands, he can run real, real well. He’s a catch-and-run guy. Extremely good balance, great vision. He runs routes that let you know he’s a receiver, also.”
Johnson added that he’s devoting as much time as he can to coaching up Montgomery, but he’s only allowed so much — at the end of the day, most of Montgomery’s time is spent working alongside the other running backs.
And Saints running backs coach Joel Thomas is eager to work with him, saying: “As a runner I see him as this piece of putty that hasn’t had a lot of experience even though he’s listed as a running back. He’s been moved around from room to room as a running back, wide receiver, maybe a scatback.”
In his NFL career, Montgomery has appeared in 62 games (including the playoffs), but only amassed 2,185 total yards from scrimmage — an average of just 35.2 yards per game. Depending on your perspective, that could mean that Montgomery has plenty of untapped potential, or that he hasn’t played well enough in either role to earn a heavier workload with his previous three teams.
But Thomas can be counted among the optimists on this tone. He pushed back against the notion that Montgomery may be just a “gadget player” limited to screens, sweeps, and other one-dimensional plays; he’s seen the veteran make the right decisions as a runner on inside-zone calls, secure clean catches downfield, and even hold up in pass protection.
He continued, “You can see the versatility that he has that might create a mismatch problem when he gets out on the field. He wears 88, he might be recognized as a receiver at the time. We’ll see how it unfolds.”
So while Montgomery’s path towards making the team will be focused on how well he plays as a conventional running back, position coaches at both spots feel like he has the juice to add an element to the Saints offense. While he still has weeks of work ahead to claim a spot on the 53-man roster, it’s hard to not be excited by these early reviews.
👀 @_WiFi_Ty_ lookin’ quick #SaintsCamp pic.twitter.com/3Hw68mJn4p
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) August 17, 2020
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