Running back is rarely if ever mentioned as one of the position groups the Bears should target in the 2020 NFL draft after David Montgomery's solid, if unspectacular, rookie year in 2019.
Montgomery finished his first season with 889 rushing yards and six touchdowns (3.7 yards per carry).
But there's an old draft saying that goes something like this: "Don't let good players stop you from taking great ones." And in the 2020 draft, the Bears may a chance to draft a potentially great running back in the second round.
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Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor ended his career as a Badger as one of the most productive running backs in college football history, including back-to-back seasons of 2,000 rushing yards the last two years. His performance at the 2020 NFL Combine, where he ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at 226 pounds, solidified his grade as a worthy first-round player who's likely to slide into the first half of the second round because of the position's current draft value.
Assuming Taylor is on the board at No. 43 overall, should Ryan Pace make him the Bears' pick?
Bears fans will pound the table for Pace to prioritize the offensive line, tight end and even an edge rusher instead, but running back is the one position group that has virtually no backup plan in place if Montgomery doesn't emerge as a true bell-cow back. Tarik Cohen is a better receiver than runner at this point in his career, and are we really sold on Ryan Nall as RB2?
Even if Montgomery becomes the kind of player the Bears thought he'd be, the reality of today's NFL is that teams are reluctant to give running backs lucrative second contracts. Adding another Day-2 running back in 2020 means an extra year of a 'rookie-deal runner' on the roster. Not the worst team-building philosophy.
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And let's not rule out the possibility that Taylor may just be the better player. He has the ability to bang the rock between the tackles like Montgomery can, but he also has the extra gear needed to rip off a 65-yard touchdown once he gets through the second level of the defense. For as strong and hard-to-tackle Montgomery is, no one will mistake him for a field-flipper anytime soon.
It's true that Montgomery cost the Bears a third-round pick in 2019 and a fourth-rounder in this year's draft (the price they paid to move up for him last year), but it's not like we're talking about a first-round investment who's entering his second season. Third-rounders are routinely replaced in the not-for-long league, and if Pace has a chance to land a player with spectacular upside, even if it's just one year removed from making a Day-2 investment on the same position, don't think for a second that he won't do it.
Imagine a Bears offense led by a quarterback who can effectively manage Matt Nagy's system with targets like Allen Robinson, an emerging Anthony Miller, Javon Wims and Riley Ridley, and a two-headed rushing attack with Montgomery and Taylor running behind an offensive line that just two seasons ago was viewed as one of the NFL's best. It sure sounds like a group that's capable of complementing a championship-caliber defense, doesn't it?
Again, don't let a good player stop you from taking a great one. If Pace thinks Taylor or one of the other quality running backs in this year's class has the chance to be great, don't be surprised if Montgomery has competition for carries this summer.