GREEN BAY, Wis. – James Starks is the verge of returning to the Green Bay Packers' offense, yet the team might be better off with receiver-turned-running-back Ty Montgomery as their primary ball carrier.
Those counting on Starks’ return from his knee injury to settle the offense should remember this number: 1.8 – his yards-per-carry average this season. Starks was largely ineffective, albeit in a small sample size (24) carries, before he tore his meniscus and underwent surgery nearly a month ago.
In his stead, Montgomery has flourished in an unexpected role that has made him perhaps the most dynamic player in coach Mike McCarthy’s offense this season.
McCarthy and offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett have to think about expanding Montgomery’s role as a ball-carrier beyond just the seven or nine rushes he has had in his last two games. It might be a wise move, especially considering Montgomery’s average of 5.7 yards per carry is more than three times Starks’ average.
Bennett suggested Montgomery could handle a much larger workload as a rusher, especially if he’s cleared for a larger role following his sickle cell trait-related illness that popped up two weeks ago. After missing one game, Montgomery rushed seven times for 53 yards in last Sunday’s loss to the Colts, making him the team’s leading rusher. He also led them with nine carries for 60 yards two weeks earlier against the Bears.
“Obviously this past week, he was on a play count,” Bennett said. “So certainly going into the week, we already had a plan in place and we wanted to stay consistent with that. But obviously going into this week, I think Coach McCarthy will make a decision on that moving forward after speaking with our trainers and doctors.”
Starks returned to practice without limitations on Wednesday and as long as he doesn’t experience a setback the rest of the week, he could play Sunday at Tennessee. It would give McCarthy an experienced, traditional back for the first time since Oct. 16 against the Cowboys, which was Eddie Lacy’s last game before an ankle injury sent him to injured reserve.
Montgomery is easily a more dynamic receiver, even out of the backfield, than Starks. The second-year pro has 23 catches for 202 yards in his last three games after not catching a pass the first four games. He has shown his chops as a pass protector, too, which has earned him running back snaps on third down.
“He’s done very well on the blitz pickups,” McCarthy said. “I think you’ve got to get past his [jersey] number. He’s not really No. 88. He’s a 225-pound, 222-pound man. He’s physical, he’s strong, and he’s really worked hard at the pass-protection techniques and the understanding particularly of the blitz pickups will be stressed at the highest level this week. It’s a very talented defense, especially in their front seven, and they obviously have a lot of pressure packages.”
When the Packers drafted Montgomery in the third round out of Stanford in 2015, one of their scouts called him a bigger version of Randall Cobb, who also had been used as a receiver and a running back.
If Montgomery morphs into a full-time running back, he may have to alter his physical makeup in the offseason. For now, he believes he can handle whatever McCarthy throws at him.
“I don’t really want to talk about what I’m trying to do with my weight,” Montgomery said recently. “But running backs range from all types of weights. I know I was heavy for a receiver, so … "