David Montgomery cleared 200 carries in all 4 of his seasons with the Bears before transitioning into a complementary, touchdown-heavy role behind Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit. Throughout his career, he has consistently proven to be a formidable goal-line force, running for 7 or more touchdowns in 5 of the past 6 seasons, a skill that we need to stick in order for him to return value on his current ADP.
Should You Draft David Montgomery in Fantasy Football?
As of early September, in PFN’s Free Fantasy Mock Draft Simulator, Montgomery has a current ADP of 52.2, which has him around the 6th round depending on how many people are in your league. The PFN fantasy football experts Jason Katz and Kyle Soppe combined have him as the 56th overall player in fantasy. That comes out to their RB21 overall, with a PPR average of 12.75 projected points per game.
I think Montgomery has a serious chance to make some noise in that Houston Texans backfield. He’s been productive in those three seasons in Detroit. He was RB27 last year, and that was definitely his worst finish in his three years there. Now that he’s not competing with Jahmyr Gibbs for touches, I think Montgomery is going to have the opportunity to make some big plays.
The offensive line in Houston arguably isn’t as good as what Detroit had even last year, and especially not what it had in his first two years in Detroit. But I think Montgomery is going to get the lion’s share of the touches in Houston. He’ll have to compete for touches with Woody Marks as well. All things considered, I take Montgomery there for sure.
I think Montgomery has some receiving upside that wasn’t fully tapped into in Detroit. He didn’t necessarily need to be a receiving back because they had Jahmyr Gibbs there with the Lions. But now that he’s with the Texans, I could see a little bit more of that start to come into focus.
I think Montgomery is being drafted as a low-tier RB2 or a high-end RB3 flex option. At his current ADP, I definitely take Montgomery. I think he’s got clear touchdown potential, as evidenced by the double-digit rushing touchdowns he had in 2 of his 3 years in Detroit. Now that he’s not fighting with Gibbs for touches, he’s going to have the opportunity to be the lead back in that Texans backfield. I’m definitely taking Montgomery at his current ADP.
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David Montgomery’s Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
Analysis provided by PFN Analyst Kyle Soppe.
I want to like this profile, and I think I’ll get there eventually, but not in Week 1.
We are 10 months removed from the last time Montgomery cleared 10 carries in a game, and while the path to volume is clear, I worry that the volume won’t grade as a positive against Josh Allen with months to prepare.
The offensive line was a mess last season. The hope is that we see growth in 2026, and a veteran ball carrier should help that cause. With time, Monty is ranked outside of my top 20 at the position this week due to how I think this game plays out. As long as he is the clear-cut top option, he’ll jump into my starting tier next weekend with the Bengals coming to town.
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Where Montgomery Ranks Among 2026 Running Backs
- Travis Etienne Jr. | NO
- Breece Hall | NYJ
- D'Andre Swift | CHI
- Kyren Williams | LAR
- Cam Skattebo | NYG
- David Montgomery | HOU
- Bhayshul Tuten | JAX
- Quinshon Judkins | CLE
- Jadarian Price | SEA
- Bucky Irving | TB
- Jaylen Warren | PIT
More rankings can be found in PFN's PPR Running Back Rankings.
