Why Lions RB David Montgomery continues to outsnap Jahmyr Gibbs | Ekeler’s Edge
The Los Angeles Chargers star and Yahoo Sports’ Matt Harmon break down the running back situation in Detroit and why the fifth-year veteran is getting the bulk of the workload over this year’s first-round pick. Hear the full conversation on “Ekeler’s Edge” - part of the “Yahoo Fantasy Football Show” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MATT HARMON: You know, David Montgomery comes off the injury report in week 4, and he gets like 30 damn carries. And Jahmyr Gibbs is kind of just a little bit of an afterthought. And people in fantasy are pissed about this, OK? Because look, are we surprised by this? What do we think with this Lions backfield?
AUSTIN EKELER: Yeah, so I went back and watched all these guys' reps because I was interested too. Because I've seen some people out there crying about, oh, Jahmyr Gibbs. People are very upset. I'm like, OK, what the heck-- what's going on over here? And so when I watched Jahmyr Gibbs, I could tell he's a rookie.
And that doesn't mean that he's not doing well. He's dynamic. He's making good plays. He's hitting the right holes, things like that. But then there's just certain things that I see when I watch David Montgomery run that I'm like, yeah, that guy's been around for a while.
For instance, running inside zones. Instead of just running to the open gap, what David does really well is he gets his shoulders square. He knows he's going to get to a gap. But then it's not just run and then kind of just run into it. It's run straight and then jump cut, explosive sudden change direction, getting in there.
Another thing that I think he does well, Montgomery, is he takes on half a man really well, which allows him to continue to run forward. He puts himself in a body position where he can fall forward pretty much on every single play, which really stood out to me. I think he's playing really, really well from what I've seen from him. Just things that you see from a vet that has been around who understands the game of football.
And that's going to separate you from someone who's a rookie who's coming in, who's still playing well but just doesn't have those little keys that he needs to learn. And so Jahmyr, he's hitting the right spots, but there's some suddenness to him that I see at times. But I'm like, I want to see that in the preparation, in the approach, in the runs to set yourself up so you can make it even more explosive. I think he's just tipping his runs a little bit more than he should be right now on some of his wide zones.
And like I said, it just takes time. That's the one that really stood out to me where it was like, OK, let's get this guy's shoulders square. And then you know-- let's say there's you know there's an open gap to the left. Instead of just running into that, right, let's hold the defense. I have my aiming point that's a little bit wider.
Let's hold them, shoulders square. And at the last possible second, let me jump cut, sudden jump, and then get vertical on that. So you can hold those linebackers a little bit longer, which I see David doing. I see the experience with David. So to me, it makes sense why David's getting the workload.
MATT HARMON: I'll tell you what, Lions in week 4, fourth in rushing EPA among all teams in week 4, eighth in rushing success rate. Because David Montgomery, with these type of intricacies, is helping to just improve the down and distance of the offense.
AUSTIN EKELER: Yeah. Yeah. And man, if you go watch that Packer game, you can really see it. It's on full display of David Montgomery doing all those little things right, breaking through tackles, finishing falling forward. I was really impressed when I went and saw that Green Bay Packer game. That was awesome.
