Ty Montgomery was a three-way star from 2011 through 2014 at Stanford University. In his best season there, he had 958 receiving yards, 159 rushing yards, 1,091 return yards, and 14 touchdowns. Of these abilities, kick returning was his best skill. As a junior, he had the nation’s top kick return average — 31.2 yards — and he was named a consensus All-American as a return specialist.
The Green Bay Packers drafted him in the third round in 2015, and planned to use him as a receiver. He got little playing time, however, and then injured his ankle and missed the last half of the season. Prior to the injury, his main contribution was returning seven kicks for an average of 31.1 yards.
For reasons known only to coach Mike McCarthy, in the first four games this year, Montgomery saw only 17 snaps on offense and was held to zero catches. In games 5, 6, and 7, however, he got his opportunity, both as a receiver and a runner. In the three games, he caught 23 passes for 202 yards and rushed 19 times for 122 yards, a 6.4 yard average.
Despite his productive play, over the next four games he was utilized sparingly – getting only 14 carries and nine catches. His involvement then picked up against the Seahawks on December 11: three catches for 45 yards and nine carries for 41 yards.
Following the big win against Seattle, McCarthy declared that Montgomery was now a running back, and Ty responded with a tremendous game against the Bears: 162 rushing yards in 16 carries.
Montgomery’s Body Transformations
Montgomery’s weight has been a topic of interest, but unlike Eddie Lacy, in a good way. Ty weighed in at 221 pounds for the NFL combine in late February of 2015, and he ran a 4.55 40-yard dash – slow for a receiver, average for a running back. However, at his pro day at Stanford on March 19, he had dropped 10 pounds and recorded a much-better dash time. It is variously listed as 4.38, 4.46, and 4.51 – which is why I don’t put a lot of trust in pro day dash times. I suspect the weight loss improved his time by a tenth of a second.
I seem to recall that Montgomery weighed around 205 at the end of last year, and that he arrived at training camp at 212 – having very intentionally beefed up for 2016. In the last couple of weeks, he’s been reported as anywhere from 220 to 225 pounds – and the new bulk and muscle were on display, as Montgomery ripped off runs of 61, 36, and 26 yards against Chicago. I would think 215 pounds would be the ideal weight for the six-footer.
Future Prospects Are Tantalizing
The Packers might have found their primary running back for the future. Much will depend on whether Montgomery can continue to churn out yards, with defenses focused on him, in the next two all-important games against Minnesota and Detroit.
The Packers offensive line, never known as strong run blockers, seemed inspired last Sunday by the team’s new running back tandem. Christine Michael’s 42-yard touchdown run was also an awesome display of power running.
I have one caveat regarding Green Bay’s rising talent. On Sunday, Montgomery appeared to forget everything he ever knew about returning kickoffs. He had four excellent return chances, but was both slow and indecisive. The results were returns of 17, 17, 13, and 10 yards — about 40 yards below what just average returns should have yielded. Unless he immediately improves on returns, I’d relieve him of this task, and have him concentrate on the run and pass game.
In addition to his rushing ability, Montgomery might well prove to be one of the league’s most talented screen-pass threats, but will the Packers employ this tactic against the Vikings on Saturday?
I don’t expect McCarthy is creative enough to spring a wildcat formation, but that is yet another option to consider at some point for Montgomery. Seattle, on offense at midfield last week, unveiled a new option to the wildcat. QB Russell Wilson moved out as a flanker, rookie receiver Tanner McEvoy took the snap, and lateraled back to Wilson, who underthrew an open Doug Baldwin in the end zone.