Chicago Bears: The top 10 most important players of 2021

Most important Chicago Bears of 2021: David Montgomery

The Bears’ “playoff run” towards the end of last season can be attributed to a few particular things. Some may still die on the hill that Mitchell Trubisky led them to that small run at the end of 2020. But, when you look closer, the main reason why the Bears found themselves in the postseason was due to the play of running back David Montgomery.

The offensive line came together to provide much better blocking lanes for Montgomery to work through, but he also did a lot of that work on his own. Montgomery had several runs where he was able to shed tacklers and gain some hard-earned yards. He truly broke out over the last six games of the season.

In a year where the running back wasn’t a shining star of the NFL, Montgomery finished tied for fifth in the league with 1,070 yards on the ground. He gained over half of those yards in the final six games, however, showing just how important the offensive line play is. Despite finishing the year on a tear, Montgomery wants more.

The Bears must return to being a run-first team, especially now having a dual-threat quarterback like Fields. If the goal of each game, offensively, is to get Montgomery going early and often, then the Bears’ offense will be in great shape. Montgomery is a guy who needs more touches as the game goes on. The more contact he gets, the better he becomes. This third year could be a special one for Montgomery — and if it is, the Bears’ offense will score a heck of a lot more than they did in 2020.