David Montgomery, Chicago Bears

There was never a contest here; Chicago had no 1st or 2nd round pick in 2019, only making 5 picks in total, and two of them (Duke Shelley and Stephen Denmark) didn’t record a single stat as rookies. Montgomery, meanwhile, became their future feature back following a long line of stalwart Bears backfields.

Montgomery finished the season at 889 yards, good for 19th in the NFL, and reached the end-zone six times; while he wasn’t often asked to run routes, he did still notch 25 receptions for almost 200 yards.

Many found Chicago’s running back management to be lacking clarity in recent years; after cutting bait on Jordan Howard after he tallied over 3,000 yards and 24 touchdowns in three seasons, some expected head coach Matt Nagy to be handing the reins to fan-favorite Tarik Cohen, a lifetime third-down back with exceptional explosiveness.

Few expected the Bears to choose the former Cyclone in Montgomery with the 73rd pick, but many expected it to become a competition for the starting job; it was over faster than expected.

In the midst of averaging almost 17 touches per game, Chicago showed their exceptional trust in Montgomery to carry the load going forward; as his performances improved, the Chicago fan base continued to gravitate towards him.

As Mitchell Trubisky enters into his fourth season fighting for his NFL life with free agent acquisition Nick Foles, one thing is for certain: either one will be happy to be handing off to Montgomery.