Khalil Herbert's Bears Fantasy Impact After David Montgomery's Injury vs. Texans

Many fantasy football managers just got their wish with Khalil Herbert taking over as the Chicago Bears' No. 1 running back.

Herbert's promotion comes after David Montgomery was doubtful to return to Sunday's game against the Houston Texans because of a knee injury, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. In Montgomery's absence, Herbert ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns.

The 2021 sixth-round draft pick had an encouraging rookie season. He ran for 433 yards and two touchdowns and caught 14 passes for 96 yards.

Entering the 2022 campaign, fantasy managers had even more reason to be bullish on Herbert. ESPN's Dan Graziano reported on Aug. 31 Chicago's "new staff seems to like [Montgomery] just fine, but there is some skepticism about whether his style fits the new offense as well as Herbert's does."

Despite those concerns, Montgomery has been, by far, the No. 1 running back in Chicago. He was the only player on the team with at least 20 touches and more than 100 yards from scrimmage through the first two weeks.

Herbert did play well in a limited role with 83 rushing yards on 13 carries in the previous two games.

The presence of Montgomery was obviously the biggest hurdle for Herbert toward becoming a viable fantasy threat. That's also why he's rostered in just 46 percent of Yahoo Sports' leagues.

Especially if Montgomery is going to be sidelined for multiple weeks, Herbert becomes a must-add and a low-end flex option at the very least. After Sunday, it might be tough for head coach Matt Eberflus to overlook Herbert regardless of Montgomery's status.

And with the amount of touches he'll get in a starting role, he'll be a positive contributor to your squad.

Given the struggles of Chicago's offense thus far, it's hard to bet on anyone having sustained success. Montgomery was virtually a non-factor with 50 total yards in Week 1, but he racked up 122 rushing yards in Week 2.

Depending on the matchups and opposing defense, Herbert might be able to get you through a couple of games in the flex spot if Montgomery misses an extended period of time.