Of all the exhibition performances I've watched so far, David Montgomery's stands out as one of the main highlights. He touched the ball just 7 times (one erased by a penalty), but 5 of them struck me as pretty impressive.
One one of his 3 receptions, he snagged a poorly thrown ball that a lot of running backs wouldn't have caught. On the longest one, he used a nifty head-fake in the open field to confuse a defender and get some extra yards. Among his runs, 2 had stutter-step moves to pick up yards (including a touchdown), while the third featured a spin move in traffic to turn nothing into a 5-yard gain.
Already, I'm regretting having used my No. 2 overall rookie pick on N'Keal Harry instead of Montgomery. It's early. But Harry isn't getting as much buzz as an undrafted rookie receiver on his own roster, and he got hurt in the preseason opener.
Montgomery, of course, has some competition for snaps in Chicago. They've got Tarik Cohen for passing downs, and Mike Davis actually started and played the first series on Thursday. But I don't think anyone watching Montgomery doubted he belongs in the league.
There were a bunch of intriguing third-round picks this year. Every one of them, in fact, has enjoyed some degree of preseason hype. Darrell Henderson for the Rams, Devin Singletary for Buffalo, Damien Harris for New England, and even Alexander Mattison in Minnesota. Would anyone be surprised if at least three of these guys started a bunch of games this year? Not me.
Since 2000, there have been 52 other third-round picks. Tough (but not impossible) for those guys to make a big impact in their rookie seasons. Six of them (12 percent) have gone over 1,000 total yards in their first seasons. Eight more (so nearly 1 in 3) went over 700 total yards. I think that's about what to expect from this crop of third-rounders -- 700 total yards for most of them is a reasonable target, and some chance one or two of them are even better.
3RD-ROUND RUNNING BACKS, ROOKIE SEASONS (2000-PRESENT) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Pk | Player | Run | Rec | Tot | TD |
2019 | 70 | Darrell Henderson, LAR | ? | ? | ? | ? |
2019 | 73 | David Montgomery, Chi. | ? | ? | ? | ? |
2019 | 74 | Devin Singletary, Buff. | ? | ? | ? | ? |
2019 | 87 | Damien Harris, N.E. | ? | ? | ? | ? |
2019 | 102 | Alexander Mattison, Minn. | ? | ? | ? | ? |
2017 | 86 | Kareem Hunt, K.C. | 1327 | 455 | 1782 | 11 |
2008 | 89 | Steve Slaton, Hou. | 1282 | 377 | 1659 | 10 |
2017 | 67 | Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 728 | 826 | 1554 | 14 |
2008 | 64 | Kevin Smith, Det. | 976 | 286 | 1262 | 8 |
2011 | 71 | DeMarco Murray, Dall. | 897 | 183 | 1080 | 2 |
2015 | 86 | David Johnson, Ariz. | 581 | 457 | 1038 | 13 |
2015 | 77 | Duke Johnson, Clev. | 379 | 534 | 913 | 2 |
2014 | 75 | Tre Mason, St.L. | 765 | 148 | 913 | 5 |
2015 | 95 | Matt Jones, Wash. | 490 | 304 | 794 | 4 |
2001 | 80 | Kevan Barlow, S.F. | 512 | 247 | 759 | 5 |
2005 | 65 | Frank Gore, S.F. | 608 | 131 | 739 | 3 |
2014 | 94 | Terrance West, Clev. | 673 | 64 | 737 | 5 |
2006 | 79 | Jerious Norwood, Atl. | 633 | 102 | 735 | 2 |
2000 | 63 | Travis Prentice, Clev. | 512 | 191 | 703 | 8 |
2014 | 96 | Jerick McKinnon, Minn. | 538 | 135 | 673 | 0 |
2008 | 73 | Jamaal Charles, K.C. | 357 | 272 | 629 | 1 |
2001 | 65 | James Jackson, Clev. | 554 | 56 | 610 | 2 |
2018 | 71 | Royce Freeman, Den. | 521 | 72 | 593 | 5 |
2012 | 84 | Bernard Pierce, Balt. | 532 | 47 | 579 | 1 |
2001 | 85 | Travis Minor, Mia. | 281 | 263 | 544 | 4 |
2009 | 65 | Shonn Greene, NYJ | 540 | 0 | 540 | 2 |
2000 | 76 | J.R. Redmond, N.E. | 406 | 126 | 532 | 3 |
2002 | 84 | Lamar Gordon, St.L. | 228 | 278 | 506 | 3 |
2011 | 73 | Stevan Ridley, N.E. | 441 | 13 | 454 | 1 |
2017 | 89 | D'Onta Foreman, Hou. | 327 | 83 | 410 | 2 |
2015 | 73 | Tevin Coleman, Atl. | 392 | 14 | 406 | 1 |
2012 | 67 | Ronnie Hillman, Den. | 330 | 62 | 392 | 1 |
2016 | 90 | C.J. Prosise, Sea. | 172 | 208 | 380 | 1 |
2014 | 69 | Charles Sims, T.B. | 185 | 190 | 375 | 1 |
2013 | 96 | Knile Davis, K.C. | 242 | 75 | 317 | 5 |
2009 | 74 | Glen Coffee, S.F. | 226 | 76 | 302 | 1 |
2005 | 77 | Ryan Moats, Phil. | 278 | 7 | 285 | 3 |
2003 | 93 | Chris Brown, Tenn. | 221 | 61 | 282 | 0 |
2002 | 91 | Brian Westbrook, Phil. | 193 | 86 | 279 | 0 |
2005 | 73 | Vernand Morency, Hou. | 184 | 87 | 271 | 2 |
2016 | 73 | Kenyan Drake, Mia. | 179 | 46 | 225 | 2 |
2003 | 96 | Justin Fargas, Oak. | 203 | 2 | 205 | 0 |
2007 | 93 | Garrett Wolfe, Chi. | 85 | 117 | 202 | 0 |
2008 | 69 | Jacob Hester, S.D. | 95 | 91 | 186 | 2 |
2015 | 94 | Ty Montgomery, G.B. | 14 | 136 | 150 | 2 |
2017 | 105 | James Conner, Pitt. | 144 | 0 | 144 | 0 |
2007 | 71 | Lorenzo Booker, Mia. | 125 | 0 | 125 | 0 |
2014 | 97 | Dri Archer, Pitt. | 40 | 23 | 63 | 0 |
2006 | 74 | Brian Calhoun, Det. | 19 | 20 | 39 | 0 |
2003 | 77 | Musa Smith, Balt. | 31 | 0 | 31 | 2 |
2011 | 96 | Alex Green, G.B. | 11 | 6 | 17 | 0 |
2007 | 90 | Tony Hunt, Phil. | 16 | 0 | 16 | 1 |
2001 | 82 | Heath Evans, Sea. | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
2003 | 85 | B.J. Askew, NYJ | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
2005 | 101 | Maurice Clarett, Den. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2000 | 81 | Rueben Droughns, Det. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2000 | 88 | Doug Chapman, Minn. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
All of those guys who started out with 1,000-total yard seasons, incidentally, turned out pretty well. Maybe not Steve Slaton; injuries were a factor. A few good 600-700-yard guys (Frank Gore, Jamaal Charles). Anyway, looks like a good group of 3rd-rounders this year.
--Andy Richardson