New Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery has a lot of fans in the draft community. The feeling is the team got themselves a tough, versatile and dedicated football player who will do everything humanly possible to be a success at his job. Exactly the sort of guy this team covets.
As usual though, there's more to the story than just the stats and highlights. Montgomery is a fascinating prospect and person. Somebody who is interesting for so many different reasons. To help illustrate this, I've compiled eight different facts about him.
Facts that nobody is likely to know about him but paint a clear picture about who he is, what he's done, and what he could mean to the Bears.
The Matt Nagy connections
It seems like almost fate that Montgomery was meant to play for head coach Matt Nagy. Why? Let's follow the connections. Montgomery was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. The same can be said of NFL veteran Spencer Ware, who was a running back Nagy coached in Kansas City.
Pretty cool. It gets better though. Montgomery was drafted with the 73rd overall pick. Another running back who went at that spot? Jamaal Charles. Somebody else Nagy coached in Kansas City. Now if that wasn't weird enough, recall that the most popular player comparison made for Montgomery this draft season is Kareem Hunt.
Yet another running back Nagy coached with the Chiefs.
He's actually the THIRD Iowa State RB drafted by the Bears
Believe it or not, this isn't the first brush with Cyclone running backs the Bears have had in their long history. Back in 1939, they took Everett Kircher in the 22nd round. Eleven years later, they grabbed Bob Angle in the 21st round. Neither player had a single carry in their careers. So Montgomery will be the first to accomplish that feat.
First Iowa State player drafted in 4 years
In recent years, Iowa State has actually produced some good players. Most notably Pro Bowl guard Kelechi Osemele, now with the Jets. However, things hit a considerable dry spell after 2014. Since then the Cyclones haven't seen a single player drafted through the previous four offseasons. Montgomery was fittingly the one to break that streak on Friday.
He models his game after Walter Payton
Every running back has his own personal inspirations for how he became good at what he does. Montgomery admitted to reports shortly after being drafted that his father showed him tapes of Bears icon Walter Payton when he was young. Needless to say they left an impression. The way the kid runs, refusing to "die easy" on every carry, reeks of Sweetness.
He's an Eagle scout
The Bears have really honed in on guys with high character in the draft these days. Players with major work ethics and leadership qualities. They may have gone a little over the top with this one though. Montgomery is quite literally a former Boy Scout. He put in so much time and effort that he earned the coveted rank of Eagle Scout.
For those unfamiliar of what that entails, here's a quote from Very Well Family to help explain.
"An Eagle Scout applicant must amass 21 or more badges, create and complete an Eagle project, write several essays, request five recommendation letters, compile an application binder, and undergo an Eagle board of review before their application is approved at the national level. The process typically takes several years...
He almost didn't go to Iowa State
Montgomery wasn't heavily recruited out of high school but there were programs that had interest in him. It came to pass that he actually almost didn't go to Iowa State. That is until they made a switch at head coach. Matt Campbell, the same man who had helped recruit Kareem Hunt, had been hired from Toledo the same year Montgomery was coming out.
He didn't have room in the backfield at his old job, but when he took over at Iowa State there was plenty. He immediately called the running back to lure him there. The rest is history.
Broke 99 tackles in his final season
Remember that thing about never dying easy? It was especially true for Montgomery in 2018. Defenses just couldn't get him on the ground. Pro Football Focus took a tally and revealed he broke 99 tackles that season. By far the best in the country and breaking the record of 89 set by Vikings running back Dalvin Cook.
Mark Helfrich had eyes on him years ago
Turns out it wasn't Bears scouts who caught wind of Montgomery first. That honor actually went to offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich. Back in 2017 he was working as CFB analyst for Fox Sports. This earned him a chance to cover some Iowa State games. The person who made the biggest impression to him? That's right. David Montgomery.
Put his team on his back in final college game
In an era where so many college players are deciding to forego bowl games to prepare for the draft, Montgomery wasn't having it. The Alamo Bowl against Washington State would be his final game at Iowa State and he intended to be there for his teammates to the end.
Things didn't start well as the team fell behind 21-10 at halftime. The running back then decided to do what he'd done his entire career. He carried them back. Montgomery ran for 66 yards and a touchdown and also caught a 53-yard pass to set up another in the second half.
Unfortunately a missed field goal and a costly fumble by him ended up leading to a narrow 28-26 defeat.
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