During the off-season last year, the Detroit Lions made a surprising move by letting Jamaal Williams walk. To replace him, they signed David Montgomery. Hard to gauge exactly what Montgomery was going to bring to the table, it did feel like it was an upgrade over Williams.
We’ve only seen Montgomery in Detroit for one season, but it really feels like the 3-year contract he signed has already paid off. Last season, Montgomery had 219 carries for 1,015 yards and 13 touchdowns. His rushing touchdown total was tied for 5th in the NFL.
Every time Montgomery received a handoff from Jared Goff, you just knew he was good to get positive yards. That’s why his 72.5 rushing yards per game was 4th-best in the NFL. Even when there was a defender meeting Montgomery in the hole, he found a way to make a cut or run through contact consistently. Let’s dive into some tape to review Montgomery’s first season in Detroit!
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One of the first things that standout when watching Montgomery is his vision and how he processes plays. Look at the play above where he watches defenders press to the outside and he cuts back inside to still gain additional yardage. Certainly, there’s good enough blocking in front of him but pay attention to the lower body flexibility from Montgomery as he makes his cut. When looking at the 2023 film for him, you’ll notice these types of runs all the time.
It’s always hard to pinpoint my favorite play from a specific player each year. However, when it comes to this run by Montgomery, it’s my favorite from him last season. With the Lions having one of the best, if not, the best offensive lines it’s football, you can credit them for most of these runs.
Looking at the play above, this run by Montgomery and the Lions is a thing of beauty. The Lions come out in a ’12’ personnel (one running back and two tight ends) and in the backfield you can see Montgomery. Once he gets the ball on this zone run
Going back to his game against the Chicago Bears, we’ll see another clip where he sees the field and makes a great cut. Looking at the play above, the Lions come out in their ’11’ personnel (one running back and one tight end).
Once the ball is snapped, you’ll see Montgomery read the weak-side linebacker. As the linebacker begins to scrape, Montgomery quickly cuts and gets upfield. Showing a flexible and fluid lower half, he begins to pickup speed and is still able to make another cut downfield on a defensive back. He drags a defender to end this run.
The last play I want to show is against the Green Bay Packers from last season. Aligned in ’12’ personnel (one running back and one tight end) are the Lions. In what looks to be inside zone slice with the backside tight end added in-motion. The benefit of the backside tight end is that it could help create a double team in space to the strong side.
As you can above, that partially happens after Brock Wright motions across the formation. With that, Montgomery shows little hesitation and bursts to the outside. As he approaches the sideline, he’s met by a defender and he stiff arms him to the ground.
Looking at the plays above you can see that David Montgomery has a flexible, fluid and strong lower half. He reads defenders well and is able to make one-cut upfield to gain yardage. When met with contact, he tends to churn out a few yards to help sustain drives.
Earning his best PFF grade since 2020, Montgomery earned an 80.0 overall grade last season. He was steady with an average of 4.63 yards per carry and he added 504 yards after contact last season. Not flashy by any means, there’s an understanding of what Montgomery will provide the Lions at running back. His simplistic but tough running style is a joy to watch in this offense.