Getty Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.
With only two running backs under contract through the 2023 season — them being Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire — the Kansas City Chiefs might look to pluck a player from the loaded free agent running back pool this offseason to add to their backfield.
That’s why Charles Goldman of Chiefs Wire believes the Chiefs could add one of offensive coordinator Matt Nagy’s favorite players during his time as head coach with the Chicago Bears: David Montgomery.
“Like it or not, the Chiefs need to find a complement for Isiah Pacheco this offseason,” Goldman wrote on March 9. “We know that Clyde Edwards-Helaire isn’t long for the team and the only other player they have under contract is La’Mical Perine. Montgomery, of course, has ties to new Chiefs OC Matt Nagy, who drafted him in Chicago.”
David Montgomery Has Strong Ties to Matt Nagy
David Montgomery, 25, entered the NFL as a third-round pick of the Bears in 2019, which is the year after Matt Nagy took over as Chicago’s head coach.
As the lead back in Chicago over the last four seasons, Montgomery accumulated 915 rushing attempts for 3,609 yards — 3.9 yards per attempt — and 26 rushing touchdowns, according to Pro Football Reference. He also had 155 catches on 194 targets — 79.9% catch percentage — for 1,240 receiving yards and another 4 touchdowns through the air.
Highlight of the day: David Montgomery 80 yard score! I know there’s a lot of talk about whether or not to extend, but let’s remember he was the bears best player on offense this past season #DaBears
Though his career yards per rush attempt isn’t anything to write home about, there are a few factors that shed light on how truly talented of a runner Montgomery is.
The first is Chicago’s offensive line, which ranked in the bottom half of the league in many categories during Mongomery’s first few seasons in the NFL, though that unit saw improvement last season. Second is the fact that he averaged 10.1 rush attempts per broken tackle, which was fifth-best among running backs last season, according to Pro Football Reference. Pair that last stat with the fact that he was only able to gain on average 2.0 yards prior to contact last season, which was second-worst in the NFL, and that speaks to how truly explosive he is as a ball carrier.
Pairing Isiah Pacheco with a back that Nagy is extremely familiar with would create a powerful 1-2 punch in Kansas City’s backfield and take some of the load off of quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“He’s one of my favorite players on the team. I love his work ethic,” Nagy said of Montgomery back in 2021 while making a guest appearance on the “Under Center” podcast. “He cares so much. He’s, I guarantee you every single day, he’s out here working. He wants to have a great year. He’s motivated.”
David Montgomery Emotional Over Matt Nagy Firing
Speaking to the media after both Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace were fired by the Bears in January 2022, David Montgomery had an emotional reaction to their departures.
“It’s kind of pretty emotional for me just because I’m just a kid from Cincinnati who didn’t have many shots coming out of high school,” Montgomery told the media, via NBC Sports. “Then coming out in the draft, I’m being passed up by a lot of teams and I’m not thinking what’s going to happen and not knowing what’s going to happen next for me. And Pace and Nagy? They took a chance on me. They took a chance on a poor kid from Cincinnati who people looked at as if he wasn’t going to be good enough to even get a chance to play. That’s why it’s emotional for me. Because they stuck their neck out on the line for me. And I appreciate them for that. Just sitting and waiting to see what’s going to happen next.
“As soon as I stepped foot in here, they showed me nothing but love. I appreciate them for that. It’s unfortunate what happened. But at the same time, you understand this is a results-driven league and we want to do what we have to do so we can handle business.”