David Montgomery's Week 5 performance puts his fantasy managers in familiar spot

In three years with Ben Johnson as the coordinator, the Detroit Lions' offense supported two fantasy-viable running backs. The last two years it went up a notch with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery both being weekly starters for their fantasy managers.

New offensive coordinator John Morton seemed inclined to shift the Lions' backfield snap split toward the younger Gibbs this season, as part of an effort to expand his involvement in the passing game. That created a level of concern about Montgomery, but not enough to completely tank his fantasy stock or make him noticeably less worthy of being drafted.

Through five games this season, that playing time shift toward Gibbs has happened, He is playing 61.1 percent of the Lions' offensive snaps, to 39.9 percent for Montgomery (they have been on the field at the same time a few times, most notably in Week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens).

Entering Week 6, Gibbs and Montgomery are both top-20 fantasy running backs regardless of the most common scoring format. Gibbs has scored in four straight games, and Montgomery has four total touchdowns over the last three weeks as the Lions' offense has re-taken its rightful place among the best in the league after a rough Week 1.

David Montgomery's Week 5 performance puts his fantasy managers in familiar spot

Montgomery is from the Cincinnati area, so Week 5 against the Bengals was a special homecoming for him. He finished the game with 18 carries for 65 yards and a touchdown, and in one of the least-surprising trick plays you'll ever see (with the homecoming in mind) Morton allowed the former high school quarterback the opportunity to throw a touchdown pass.

With those two touchdowns, compared to the one his backfield mate had, Montgomery had more fantasy points than Gibbs for the second time in the last three games. After the first occurrence, Montgomery's fantasy managers had a clear strategic plan to try to execute if they could.

In 0.5-point PPR to make it easier, Montgomery finished as a top-10 fantasy running back in Week 3 and Week 5. He has finished outside the top-30 in two of the other three weeks.

With that inconsistency in mind, Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus probably didn't have a hard time putting Montgomery No. 1 on his list of five players to sell high on in fantasy heading into Week 6.

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"The Lions swapped out offensive coordinators this offseason, which has led to a less consistent role for Montgomery. He played under 40% of the offensive snaps in each of the first four games, but that changed last week. This past week was the only time he’s carried the ball 14 or more times. Week 1 was the only time he caught multiple passes. On the bright side, he’s scored four touchdowns in the last four weeks."

"The game script largely influenced his Week 5 performance. Jahmyr Gibbs played 71% of Detroit's offensive snaps over the first seven drives, culminating with his 20-yard touchdown reception. With Detroit up by 28 points, it turned to Montgomery for most of the rest of the game. Montgomery had 19 snaps to Gibbs' five. Montgomery ran 12 times during the closing stretch."

"The Lions have the third-most difficult schedule over the rest of the season, making more blowouts unlikely. Montgomery's new normal should be 10-11 carries with a target. While that kind of volume is fine when several teams are on bye weeks, that is not the volume you would hope for once most teams are past their bye week." 

The Lions using Montgomery late in a game to grind the clock is not new. But in Week 5 it boosted him to artificial season-highs in snaps and carries, and he had a touchdown pass to bolster his fantasy stat line.

It's rare to get a second clear-cut moment to sell-high on a player in a short span of time, but that moment is here for Montgomery's fantasy managers if they can manage it comfortably in the midst of bye weeks.