It looks as if third-round pick Ty Montgomery is going to be the Green Bay Packers primary kick returner in 2015, but can he make a dent as a pass catcher?
Probably not.
Very few rookie receivers have had big years with the Green Bay Packers and Montgomery is going to be buried on the depth chart behind Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams. He’ll get opportunities on offense, but not many.
Montgomery is realistic about what’s ahead, but obviously thinks he’s ready now.
“I think I can compete anywhere, at any point in time,” Montgomery said. “It’s nothing against any of the other guys that are here. But we’re all competitors. As far as my role, I can’t tell you what my role is going to be. I don’t necessarily determine that. I’m going to be prepared to be able to go whenever and wherever the coaching staff decides to put me.”
Part of the confidence comes from playing at Stanford. Not only is he an egghead, but the Cardinal run an offense that’s very similar to the Packers’.
Not only are some of the plays the same, but some of the terminology is also the same.
So Montgomery has a built-in advantage because of where he went to college, which is exactly like the real world, now that we think of it.
Send your kids to Stanford, people!
Anyway, Montgomery should fit into the Packers scheme almost seamlessly as a rookie, but what can you expect?
Well, probably still not much. Here are what some current and recent Packers receivers did in their rookie seasons with the club.
- Davante Adams (2014): 38 catches, 446 yards, 3 TDs
- Randall Cobb (2011): 25 catches, 375 yards, 1 TD
- Jordy Nelson (2008): 33 catches, 366 yards, 2 TDs
- James Jones (2007): 47 catches, 676 yards, 2 TDs
- Greg Jennings (2006): 45 catches, 632 yards, 3 TDs
- Donald Driver (1999): 3 catches, 31 yards, 1 TD
Of the group, only Jennings and Jones were starters as rookies and neither of them were full-time starters.
In other words, regardless of what he says or the advantages he has, don’t expect Ty Montgomery to light the world on fire this year.
Hearing good things about the kid.
if he helps our special teams – return and coverage – to not suck, his contributions will be felt. catching a few passes from AR, maybe a TD or two, will be very tasty icing on the cake.
None of those other rookie receivers had the size to line up in a multi-formation set where they can move from the slot to fullback to inline tight end or even halfback.
Developing like R Rodgers would be nice by season end. Maybe this is a hybrid TE move.