David Montgomery has landed in the best situation of his career with the Detroit Lions, and his fantasy football upside for 2023 has been further confirmed.
With his coming to the Detroit Lions in free agency, David Montgomery had landed in a situation better than he had in any of his four seasons with the Chicago Bears. For the Lions, he’s an upgrade over the departed Jamaal Williams and bad news for the 2023 fantasy value of D’Andre Swift.
Montgomery, simply, has undeniably massive fantasy upside as the Lions’ new lead back.
Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus has Montgomery on his list of biggest fantasy football winners from the first wave of free agency. For that matter, Montgomery is No. 1 on the list.
Here are Jahnke’s most notable notes on Montgomery.
"-Montgomery joins the division-rival Lions after spending most of his recent seasons as a feature-back with the Chicago Bears. He is one of only five running backs with over 2,000 offensive snaps over the last three seasons.-Williams and D’Andre Swift had a nice balance with Williams being the better rusher and Swift the better receiver, but Montgomery has graded better than Swift in both aspects over the last three seasons.-How Montgomery and Swift shake out in terms of fantasy football will depend heavily on Swift’s health and ability to earn the team’s trust. We could see Montgomery being a Williams-esque touchdown machine with more receiving work, making him potentially a top-10 fantasy running back."
Fantasy upside for David Montgomery is further confirmed
Could we see Monty break the top 10 in 2023? 🚀 pic.twitter.com/NKJpJW6bYm
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) March 23, 2023
Jahnke did allow for an idea that this year “could also be the breakout year dynasty managers have hoped for out of Swift.” But also, the “most likely outcome is Montgomery starts while Swift is the backup. They could be used interchangeably in most situations, but Montgomery is the one likely to score the touchdowns.”
Jahnke noted some of the obvious points about Montgomery’s fantasy potential as a Lion–durability, while combining an all-around skill set with taking on the majority of the goal line role Williams is leaving behind from last season.
Add in a Lions’ offensive line that’s one of the best in the NFL, as well as an offense that appears set to remain one of the best in the NFL next season, and you get confirmed and certified huge fantasy potential for Montgomery in 2023.