Bears' David Montgomery, Tarik Cohen's Fantasy Outlook After Week 2

Facing the Denver Broncos on Sunday, the Chicago Bears saw an initial return on their investment in rookie third-round running back David Montgomery when he found the end zone for the first time and led the game's rushers with 62 yards on 18 carries.

The Bears beat the Broncos 16-14 behind 153 total yards rushing among six ball-carriers. Wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson was second to Montgomery with 50 yards on two rushes, including a game-long 46-yard run, and Tarik Cohen had 18 yards on four carries.

Montgomery is showing signs of being able to act as Chicago's primary back, and there could be fantasy implications moving forward in head coach Matt Nagy's offense for both him and Cohen.

Montgomery's increased touches Sunday aligned with what Nagy said he wanted to do after the 22-year-old only carried the ball six times in the season opener:

Cohen is the longest-tenured Bears ball-carrier, having been in Chicago since the team drafted him in the fourth round in 2017.

The 24-year-old is officially listed as a running back, but his production as a receiver has largely superseded his action on the ground. In his first two seasons, Cohen recorded 1,078 yards and six touchdowns as a receiver opposite 814 yards and five touchdowns as a runner.

The Bears traded running back Jordan Howard to Philadelphia in March. Howard was the bell cow in Chicago with 13 100-yard rushing games since 2016, tied for the third-most in the NFL during that time span, according to the team's official website.

When Chicago moved Howard, touches opened up for Cohen—until the team drafted Montgomery in April. With Nagy focused on getting Montgomery into a groove as the primary back, Cohen instead figures to become a situational playmaker.

Under that assumption, Cohen's upside is at the flex spot. Meanwhile, if Montgomery continues to progress and Nagy opens the offense up for him, he could excel like Howard did. For now, Montgomery is splitting reps with Cohen and veteran Mike Davis. However, he is worth a look at RB2.

Other backs in the range Montgomery is approaching are Denver's Phillip Lindsay and San Francisco's Matt Breida. On Sunday, Montgomery (13.8) finished right behind Breida (14.2) in fantasy points scored among running backs. Lindsay, coming off a 1,000-yard rookie campaign, has posted 10.6 points in each of the first two weeks.

Looking toward your Week 3 lineup, the Bears face Washington next week. Washington allowed 213 total rushing yards to Dallas on Sunday, and Ezekiel Elliott tallied 111 yards and a touchdown. The week prior, Washington gave up 123 yards and a touchdown on the ground to Philadelphia.