Chicago Bears: 5 Takeaways from training camp so far

3. David Montgomery is turning heads

David Montgomery enters the 2019 season with a lot of pressure. He plays for a team with a history of great running backs. Also, he’s replacing a very popular player who was pretty effective in his time in Chicago. Moreover, a lot of experts say he could be a rookie star who could end up being the leader in rushing yards for rookies and be up there in voting for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Montgomery got the rookie treatment early on when he tried to block linebacker Roquan Smith on a play. Smith practically obliterated the young back and gave him the “Welcome to the NFL” hit. Additionally, he found that running routes and making catches are a little more difficult in the NFL, especially against this elite, dominating defense.

Montgomery got his wits about him quickly, though. He got in a groove and is now showing the abilities that the Bears raved about when they made him their first pick (in the third round) of this year’s draft.

After the early blip, Montgomery is showing what he could do. Charles London, the Chicago Bears running backs coach, spoke on how his game is transitioning well to the professional level to the team’s official website:

"“What we saw on tape of him in college, so far he’s translated to this level of ball. We went live the other day and he broke a few tackles and he’s done a good job keeping his feet. He’s got great contact balance. We’ve been happy with him so far.”"

Montgomery was fun to watch in college. It was difficult trying to get him down one-on-one. He has great lower body strength and balance to bounce off hits and keep going. He has incredible cuts that help him get away from tacklers. It takes more than one man to try to get him down.

So far in camp, he’s up to his old tricks.

If Montgomery continues to display his skills as well as he’s done so far, people will forget about how much of a gamble it was to trade Jordan Howard away and he’ll be the next favorite running back.