Chicago Bears: Bold predictions for the offense in 2019
By Ryan Heckman
1. David Montgomery will top 1,600 yards from scrimmage as a rookie
100 yards per game. That’s the magic number. Rookie running back David Montgomery will average 100 yards from scrimmage per game and end his first NFL season with over 1,600 total yards.
It’s not that crazy, when you think about it.
The Bears moved up to draft this kid, and it was for a legitimate reason. They don’t want Tarik Cohen to burn himself out. Jordan Howard couldn’t be counted on as an every-down back; he wasn’t a guy to swiftly catch the ball and turn it upfield.
Montgomery can do it — and he’s already proved it with flashes this preseason (see the Carolina Panthers game).
Last year, Howard finished with 1,070 yards from scrimmage. Cohen, on the other hand, topped Howard just a bit with a grand total of 1,169 yards. That’s 2,200 yards from both running backs.
Read. Bears: Eddy Pineiro steals show against Colts. light
If you consider Montgomery is an upgrade over Howard, and Cohen’s touches will be dialed back just a little bit, it’s not too farfetched.
Now, don’t think this means Cohen’s touches drop dramatically. He’s going to get the football a lot. But, Montgomery will handle a lot more of the carries in this back field. Cohen will be utilized in various ways. This offense will be even better in Year 2 under Matt Nagy, so expect yardage and scoring to go up.