Jayden Daniels vs David Montgomery

“As long as Jayden Daniels can remain healthy, this should be a formidable offense”

“Going from Cam Ward to Jayden Daniels this year is an upgrade at the quarterback position, which only strengthens his chances at cracking the top 12”

“Lamar Jackson , Jayden Daniels , Joe Burrow , Baker Mayfield , and Kyler Murray all were selected as top-12 players at the position and finished double-digit slots behind expectations in terms of points per game.”

“The rushing upside of Jayden Daniels tempted me, but the Bengals’ schedule should be excellent for Burrow and the passing attack.”

“After a sublime 2024 rookie season in which he threw for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns, ran for 891 yards and six touchdowns, and was named Offensive Rookie of the Year, Daniels played only seven games in 2025 due to elbow, knee and ankle injuries. When he was healthy, Daniels was a far less efficient passer than he had been in 2024, averaging only 6.7 yards per pass attempt and completing 60.6% of his throws in 2025 (down from 7.4 YPA and a 69.0% completion rate as a rookie).”

“Von Miller spoke about choosing the Commanders, saying "with the Washington Commanders, I just felt like Jayden Daniels was poised for another great season. His rookie season went all the way to the NFC Championship, and last year, he got hit with injuries, not just at the quarterback position, but all over the place."”

“With Terry McLaurin limited to 10 games last season, Deebo Samuel and Zach Ertz were the top two target options in the offense. Neither has been re-signed, and both remain free agents. After last year's injuries and less proven talent around him, the risk far outweighs the reward of selecting Daniels at his current ADP.”

“When Daniels did play a complete game, he was still productive for fantasy. In those weeks, he posted 19.6 fantasy points per game, which would have been QB7 for the season. He scored at least 15 fantasy points in six of his seven appearances, showing he still has a high floor.”

“Assuming he can see time on the field in that same role with Jayden Daniels at quarterback, he will generate significant fantasy points with his efficiency.”

“Washington's fortunes revolve around the health of Jayden Daniels. The positive is that before injuries derailed his 2025 season, he still flashed franchise-quarterback traits, and the team was competitive.”

“Daniels struggled with knee, hamstring and elbow injuries last season, and his durability is going to be in question until he can stay healthy for 17 games across multiple seasons. However, as long as he's healthy, Daniels brings the kind of rushing upside that only a handful of quarterbacks can match.”

“Jayden Daniels was a disappointment even before he got hurt. His passing numbers were down, and he only averaged 39.7 rushing yards per game prior to his injury.”

“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.”