David Montgomery May Finally Be A Bell Cow For Fantasy Football

Everyone likes a fresh start—even LeBron James.

And in our neck of the woods, a change of scenery has long been one of the keys to unlocking more fantasy value.

In 2024, we saw Saquon Barkley (Giants -> Eagles), Derrick Henry (Titans -> Ravens) and Josh Jacobs (Raiders -> Packers) all change teams and reach significantly new heights (no free ads, Kelces—pay up).

In 2025, George Pickens went from a work-in-progress on the Steelers to a legit WR1 on the Cowboys.

This year we don’t have quite as many options for a new team glow up—I recently made the case for Jaylen Waddle as this year’s Pickens—but if there’s one strong candidate at the RB position it has to be David Montgomery, who the Lions traded to the Texans.

A recent piece in the Houston Chronicle makes it clear that they expect him to be a big part of their 2026 plans. They brought him in to improve their goal-line efficiency and he’s already providing “vocal leadership” and mentoring the young guys.

Ian recently laid out the bull case (300+ touches & double-digit TD upside now that he’s away from Jahmyr Gibbs) and the bear case (O-line still stinks, loses pass work to Woody Marks) for him.

I lean to the bull case for Monty and find him to be one of the better clicks in Round 5 of drafts. I don’t see a ton of difference between him and guys like Josh Jacobs and Javonte Williams, who go well ahead of him.

That said, he is a polarizing guy, even within our own rankings team (Kendall and Ian are lower at RB23 and RB25 while Dwain and Freedman have him at RB19).

If I start my draft with a couple of WRs, though—maybe an elite TE—Montgomery is someone I’m immediately circling as a guy who could return RB1 value at RB2 prices.

MORE ZERO-RB TARGETS TO CONSIDER

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Around the Watercooler

Your favorite football nerds are back and bringing you the latest news, content and memes from the NFL universe …

😯 Don’t sleep on this WR. A WR1 who is free?!

🏈 An offense that gave us a late preview of things to come. What a finish.

🪓 Is Christian Watson safe in Guillotine Leagues^TM? Too fast to chop.

💪 A golden boy is taking the next step. To elite QB status.

🚣 Jameis Winston remains the best. He’s on Team Norway.

🙌 So many WRs to target in Duuuvallll. Can you pick just one?

🎺 You’re darn tootin this RB could surprise. How’s it spelled?

🤠 Micah Parsons back in Dallas! Kind of …

😴 A young TE is taking the next step. Late-round sleeper?

👀 A first-rounder disappointed. Things are looking up in Year 2.

🤯 Sleepers, upside plays, avoids and risky … one stop for all of these.

What Really Matters For QBs In Your 2026 Drafts

We’d love to tell you that predicting quarterback success for fantasy football is as easy as looking at the fantasy points and saying that player will finish as QB1. You’d have been right more often than not if you said Josh Allen the past six seasons. But there is more nuance in identifying which stats matter and which ones you can leave alone in evaluating QBs for fantasy football.

Dwain McFarland is back, and this article is really a prequel to his QB Tiers that is coming soon. Go behind the curtain to get into his process on what he’s looking for when setting up those tiers. ⤵️

HOW MUCH DOES RUSHING MATTER?

Will You Love To Draft Jordan Love?

At this point in the summer, we’re pretty sure that Kendall Valenzuela is the leader of the pack on drafting Jordan Love this season. And the competition ain’t close. But looking under the hood further, there are things to like—we’re not ready to fall in love yet—about the Green Bay QB. And when Kendall got asked about offenses she’s targeting with her late-round picks, the Packers got some company from a familiar foe.

Kendall also answered questions directed on players she’s newly targeting as well as tips for playing Guillotine Leagues^TM for the first time. Hint: Don’t get chopped! Here’s her latest mailbag. ⤵️

YOU WON’T HAVE TO THINK LONG ON THIS YOUNG TE

Rookies Ready To Rise Up?

We know that the Cleveland Browns are staging the QB competition that no one wants. But what if there are rookies coming on board who could help out those passers? That just might be the case. Ian and Dwain get into the Dawg Pound to break down all things fantasy football for the Browns. Subscribe to the Fantasy Football is Life YouTube channel so you can catch all the team previews and more!

QUINSHON JUDKINS GOING TO HAVE A HEALTHY RETURN?

Published Jul 1, 2026, 3:00 AM ET