Fantasy Football: 8 Players With Easy Early-Season Schedules
Ty Montgomery, Green Bay Packers
| Week | Opponent | Projected Defensive Rush NEP Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seahawks | 1 |
| 2 | Falcons | 30 |
| 3 | Bengals | 26 |
| 4 | Bears | 32 |
Ty Montgomery's road to becoming starting running back for the Packers has been weird. Originally drafted as a wide receiver, Montgomery rarely saw the field in his first season-and-a-half as a pro. But when Eddie Lacy went down due to injury last season, the Packers had nowhere to turn but Montgomery to shoulder the load in the backfield, and performed admirably.
His 0.08 Rushing NEP per rush ranked 10th out of the 59 running backs with at least 70 carries last season, with his 45.45% Rushing Success Rate ranking 14th among that same group. Moreover, with a history as wide receiver, Montgomery racked up a couple of 10-catch games on the way to an efficient, albeit weird season.
He has now dedicated himself fully to his craft as a rusher, trying to shape his body to handle the rigors of a running back workload, and working with a trainer famous for improving the footwork of NFL running backs.
Montgomery should be able to bolster his confidence in the first quarter of the season, squaring off against the Atlanta Falcons, the Cincinnati Bengals, and the Chicago Bears, each of whom rank as bottom-seven run defenses. He'll likely struggle in Week 1, so if you can't draft him, he may also be a really good buy low if his owner is super-impatient.
Even though his path to running back has been winding, Montgomery's a good bet to put up some big early-season numbers.
