The 2019 NFL Draft is officially less than a month away and drawing closer by the day, but don't expect the Dallas Cowboys to be sitting on their hands in the meantime. They've done an outstanding job of adding quality free agents to minimize their draft “needs” so far, but there is one position they could still stand to upgrade… backup running back.
My fellow Staff Writer, Jess Haynie, recently wrote an excellent article entitled “Will Dallas Cowboys Address Backup RB in Free Agency or 2019 Draft?“. It's an excellent read, and a question a lot of us around Cowboys Nation have been asking ourselves. Everybody's interested in finding out who will become the RB2 behind Ezekiel Elliott in 2019, and so the waiting game begins.
Since we have nothing to do but wait, I thought I'd go ahead and throw my two cents in. If it was me, I'd go ahead and add a cost-effective free agent running back to pair with Zeke and then add another one through the draft if one happened to be there I liked in the mid to later rounds. This would free up the Cowboys draft “needs” even more in my opinion.
This of course is where Ty Montgomery comes into play. His name isn't one mentioned all that often amongst the current free agent running backs, but I believe he would make an excellent addition to the Dallas Cowboys roster and wouldn't break the bank to bring aboard either.
You may not be aware of it, but Ty Montgomery is a native Texan and grew up in the Dallas area. He attended St. Mark's School in Dallas where he was a five-sport athlete in football, track, baseball, basketball, and lacrosse. From there he took his talents to Stanford, where he played wide receiver under Head Coach David Shaw.
You're probably more familiar with his story from there. He was drafted in the third-round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. He started his career playing wide receiver for them, but out of necessity was moved to running back. It was at RB he found his niche in the NFL and turned into one the more versatile runners and pass catchers in the league.
I'm really intrigued with the things Ty Montgomery would bring to the table as the Dallas Cowboys RB2. He's someone who I believe could help lighten the load on Zeke's shoulders as both a runner and receiver in the passing game. His background as a receiver would also give the Cowboys an emergency WR if worst comes to worst.
What I also like about Montgomery is his ability to contribute on special teams. I think he could immediately be an upgrade as their kick returner. He's averaged 22.7 yards per kick return in his career. Having special teams ability is something valued in backup players and luckily he's no slouch in this area.
Ty Montgomery is only 26 years old and won't turn 27 until January 22. His ability to contribute as a runner, receiver, and a returner is really intriguing and the Cowboys may not be able to find that kind of trifecta in an RB in the draft. That's why I would go ahead and lock him up pre-draft, and then add a rookie if there's one available in the draft I truly like.
