D'Andre Swift vs David Montgomery

“D'Andre Swift is a favorite draft target in the fifth round based on ADP.”

“The Bears have a two-man backfield, with RBs D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai sharing work. But it's worth leaning into the Chicago backfield because the Bears should have one of the better offenses in the league, and Bears head coach Ben Johnson is one of the best running-game designers in the league. I would rather have D'Andre Swift than Quinshon Judkins, even though Judkins is expected to have more touches.”

“Last year, Swift was the RB15, averaging 14.3 PPR fantasy points per game, a higher average than Bucky Irving (13.8) and Kenneth Walker III (11.3). More importantly, he averaged more rushing attempts (13.9 vs. 9.9) and yards per game (67.9 vs. 46.1) than Monangai last year.”

“Going into this season, Swift is going to be the 1A in a duo with second-year back Kyle Monangai, as the team didn't draft any running backs nor sign anyone in free agency, leaving Swift and Monangai with the backfield all to themselves.”

“Swift racked up a career-high 1,087 yards on the ground and scored 10 total touchdowns, and with 34 receptions for 299 yards, averaged 14.3 fantasy points per game, good for RB16.”

“If that happens, Swift could easily be a top-18 running back for fantasy.”

“Swift was the preferred option around the goal line, and it becomes quite hard not to be interested in him at his current cost of RB25, going around pick 60.”

“Swift had a higher explosive run rate (5.4% vs. 4.1%), a better missed tackles forced rate (0.17 vs. 0.10), generated more yards before contact and was the better receiving back.”

“Swift's efficiency numbers bounced back after a horrible 2024 season, ranking 13th in explosive run rate, 11th in rushing success rate, and 20th in missed tackle rate, and should be a mid-range RB2 again this season.”

“D'Andre Swift arguably had a career year last season for the Bears as the RB16 in fantasy points per game, finishing with 257 touches and 1,386 total yards while splitting work with Kyle Monangai.”

“David Montgomery and D'Andre Swift are clean examples because they sit back to back in ADP, with Montgomery at 5.5 and Swift at 5.6 (as of June 3rd). Or do you need Swift's receiving profile and a different ceiling bet if the Bears take their offense to the moon?”

“Yes, he's getting a little older, but those numbers belong to a running back who still has real juice, not one that's falling off a cliff. The Bears' offense is ascending, and Swift is right in the middle of it.”

“David Montgomery (RB – HOU) At this point in the draft, I didn’t have a running back yet, so I wanted to start taking swings on players I felt had starter upside, and David Montgomery is definitely one of them”

“Last season, Montgomery bested Marks in explosive run rate, missed tackle rate, rushing success rate, yards after contact per attempt, and yards per route run. Legit, every per-touch metric that I care about. Montgomery is the superior back, even at this stage of his career, and he’ll be a strong volume-driven RB2 that could flirt with RB1 production.”

“David Montgomery now finds himself as the Texans’ do it all workhorse for 2026. Last year, he was phased out of the Lions’ offensive plans as the season moved along, which led to his RB32 finish in fantasy points per game. In Weeks 12-18, he was the RB43 in fantasy points per game with a 32.1% snap rate, 8.2 touches per game, and only 42.8 total yards per game.”

“A Case Study at the Round 4 Turn Currently in best ball ADP, DJ Moore and David Montgomery are priced right next to each other, with average draft positions of 47 and 48, as of July 27th.”

“Gibbs, like Bijan, has seen his total volume increase each year of his NFL career and is projected to take on an even bigger load now that Knuckles, aka David Montgomery , is gone.”

“All this adds up to an offense that will be on the field a lot while nursing leads in the second half, and that’s all David Montgomery time, baby.”

“Flip this to David Montgomery last season, who didn’t get a lot of volume, but was 19 th in yards per touch, 32nd in true yards per carry, and 29 th in yards created per touch. What you see is a bell cow-style individual, very similar to Joe Mixon in the past, and this is the type of player that (despite being aggressively average) can put up a ton of fantasy points on volume alone.”

“Montgomery should absorb a workload close to what Joe Mixon saw in 2024.”

“David Montgomery (RB – HOU) Montgomery’s price has crept up steadily all offseason to the point where one analyst is no longer comfortable with it, now sitting around the second pick of the sixth round. There was real confidence in him right after his team traded real draft capital to acquire him, but the cost has now outpaced that confidence.”

“We were only a year removed from Joe Mixon scoring 11 times on the ground in Houston in 2024, so it is easy to get to David Montgomery having touchdown upside in a larger role with the Texans.”

“Montgomery is, by all accounts, the lead back in Houston, with Marks handling the occasional third-down work. The Cincinnati native and Iowa State product’s ADP reflects a low-end RB2 finish. However, he could easily end the season as a high-end RB2.”

“The best RB value pick based on current ECR is David Montgomery. He is RB24 in ECR, and although Houston has struggled with their offensive line play and overall offensive output, Monty should get most of the RB touches in what projects to be a somewhat improved line and offense.”