2019 Raiders Draft Prospect Profile: RB David Montgomery

2019 Raiders Draft Prospect Profile

Name: David Montgomery

Position: RB

School: Iowa State

Height: 5’11”

Weight: 217 pounds

Stats

Run Style

Ironically, at this writing, ESPN heralded Montgomery, claiming he possesses the traits of every current RB. While they remain wrong, Montgomery’s toolbox stays full. When he receives the handoff. The first thing you notice is vision. During his career at Iowa State, Montgomery chose his holes and cutback lanes immediately. With little indecision, Montgomery hits the hole with power. More importantly, he bring an uncanny balance. With rules starting to diminish the punishing stiff arm, Montgomery adjusted. When bouncing to the outside, in traffic, he will use his off hand to maintain leverage and keep his feet. In addition, Montgomery will spin, using leg drive to churn and punish defenders.

Agility

For a bigger back, Montgomery displays excellent feet. First, his open field cuts and ability to trace across the field away from defenders. Although his repertoire gains him extra yardage, Montgomery introduced a stagger-legged juke. That is to say, he will drag the back leg to disrupt the timing of the tackle.

Speed

If you are looking for a threat to score from sixty yards, Montgomery is not your back. However, he does bring burst. Coupled with his balance,  Montgomery finds the second gear. While enough to streak past linebackers, safeties will nudge him out of bounds.

Hands

From film review, Montgomery excels with two routes: the swing passes and angle route. Despite pedestrian yards per catch numbers, Montgomery will make defenses pay in the passing game. The ball finds his hands and there is not a bobble.

Awareness

As mentioned, Montgomery’s vision stands out. He follows his blockers while not running up their backs or missing an opportunity. During longer runs, where a defender draws a bead, Montgomery will protect the ball and realize the attempt to find,

Raiders Fit

With Marshawn Lynch’s impending retirement, Oakland needs a workhorse back. In roughly half of Montgomery’s college games, he has carried the ball at least twenty times. Moreover, his ability to grind, make defenders miss and catch make him a solid Day 2 pick. If you add Jalen Richard and Chris Warren to the fold, the Raiders could have a running back trio that could give opponents fits for years. Meanwhile, Jon Gruden will appreciate Montgomery’s inside running and toughness.