Getty The Ravens could get a 1,000-yd RB on the cheap in trade.
Greg Roman still wants to call more running plays than passes, despite overseeing a Baltimore Ravens offense where the best running back is franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Roman’s run-heavy system has been hit hard by injuries in the backfield. J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill continue to battle back from issues that kept them out of last season, while a veteran recruit like Mike Davis has averaged a mere 2.2 yards per carry through five games.
What Roman needs is a true workhorse, a proven 1,000-yard running back, to make his offense work. Fortunately, the Ravens could get such a back for a relatively cheap price, according to one ESPN writer, who has outlined a scenario where the AFC North leaders trade a late-round draft pick next year for a bell-cow back capable of igniting this season’s ground attack.
NFC North Bruiser Perfect for Ravens
As part of 15 trade proposals ahead of the NFL’s deadline on November 1, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell sends David Montgomery to the Ravens. The bruising lead-back of the Chicago Bears would only cost a fifth-round pick in 2023 in Barnwell’s exciting scenario.
Barnwell believes “Montgomery probably belongs elsewhere,” while the 2-4 Bears “are cleaning up their cap and beginning their latest rebuild.” It’s a reasonable argument since, as Barnwell, points out, Montgomery wasn’t drafted by the new regime of general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus.
Instead, Montgomery joined the Bears as a third-round pick in 2019 and rushed for 889 yards in eight starts as a rookie. His best season came in 2020 when he accumulated 1,074 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground, as well as catching 54 passes for 438 yards.
A knee injury forced him to miss four games and prompted a statistical downturn in 2021, but at his best, Montgomery is a gifted all-rounder who can handle 20-30 carries each week. The 25-year-old also possesses the patience, power and vision to be the kind of grinder between the tackles Roman loves.
Those qualities were on display when Montgomery scored his first rushing touchdown of this season against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 5:
David Montgomery spins in for the TD! #DaBears
📺: #CHIvsMIN on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ t.co/78MQfPqpl1
The same qualities are missing from the Ravens’ backfield for a variety of reasons and make a trade worth exploring.
Ravens Have Plenty of Incentive to Trade for RB
The Ravens are a logical potential trade suitor for Montgomery because of the way they “typically mine the league’s compensatory formula for all it’s worth, according to Barnwell. He also noted “it’s not clear whether the Ravens trust J.K. Dobbins right now, given that his snap percentage dropped between Week 4 and Week 5.”
Dobbins, who is returning from knee surgery, made reference to his limited playing time late on against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5, to Barnwell’s colleague Jamison Hensley:
I asked Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins if he tried to convince the coaches to let him go there for the game-winning drive Sunday.
After pointing out he didn’t play in the fourth quarter, Dobbins said: “It hurt not being out there with (Lamar Jackson. but I just got to be patient.”
The Ravens want to be cautious about how they use a runner who tore his ACL and LCL last year. It’s a prudent strategy, but Roman’s running game lacks another back with the explosion or power to compensate for Dobbins’s absence.
Davis hasn’t made the grade, while Barnwell stated fellow experienced recruit “Kenyan Drake has been dismal as the team’s veteran back.” That’s an apt description while Drake averages a paltry 3.1 yards per attempt.
It’s little wonder Jackson tops the team’s rushing charts with 374 yards, 249 more than Hill, the next most-productive runner on the roster. Relying on a quarterback playing in a contract year to carry the ground game is not a sustainable to win football games.
The Ravens need genuine balance, something Montgomery would provide. He could be surplus to requirements in Chicago thanks to the emergence of Khalil Herbert, who many, including Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus, believe is a more dynamic option:
Khalil Herbert has a better first down rate, explosive run rate, avoided tackle rate, yards per carry rate, yards after contact per carry rate and yards before contact per carry rate compared to David Montgomery both this season, as well as the last two seasons combined
Montgomery wouldn’t add game-breaking speed to the Ravens’ offense, but that’s not what Roman needs. He’d prefer a steady chain-mover capable of controlling the clock and punishing defenses.
That’s Montgomery, and this trade makes too much sense not to happen.