There are a number of players signed in this year’s draft who have got the Green Bay Packers fans excited ahead of the new season. Among the new arrivals, wide receiver Ty Montgomery was one of the most eyebrow-raising when he was selected in the third round, but the former Stanford Cardinals star could end up being one of the surprise packages of the season. While the 22-year-old has all the attributes to succeed in the NFL and arrived in the draft, it was the fact the Packers already have one of the strongest receiver corps in the league that made the decision to draft Montgomery a slightly odd one at first glance.
Despite the fact the receiver is going to find it tough to break into the mix in his rookie season, it’s clear Green Bay rate Montgomery highly for them to use a third round pick on him rather than strengthen other areas in the team. At six-foot and 220 pounds, the youngster has all the physical attributes to be a very useful weapon to this Packers offense. During his senior year at university, the receiver recorded 61 catches for 604 yards and three touchdowns, a decline in stats from his junior year in which he caught 61 made 61 catches for an incredible 958 yards and 10 touchdowns, but some still impressive numbers.
by Phil Roeder
If you head to http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting, you’ll see the Packers as short as 7/1 to win the Super Bowl when this article was produced. Much of that is down to the talent of Green Bay’s offense and, in particular, their receivers – which begs the question as to just where Montgomery fits in. The signs are certainly promising regarding the rookie’s future with the Packers but the receiver has a long way to go to prove he is worthy of a regular place on the field. The rookie’s debut season might not see him rack up the same sort of stats as he did during his time at Stanford, but any play-time he does gain will be an opportunity for him to test himself against the best and make a case for a bigger role.
In terms of his role this season, it’s likely that Montgomery will be handed the fourth receiver role, which will definitely mean the rookie should see plenty of action in his first year with the Packers. A strong showing in pre-season could be enough to convince Mike McCarthy that he is ready to handle what it takes to play in the NFL, and from there it’s down to Montgomery to take his chance with both hands.
One thing in the rookie’s favour will be his impressive return ability. During his college career, the receiver averaged 27.4 yards per kick-off with 19.8 coming from punt returns, going all the way to the end zone from a punt on two occasions last season to take his total punt return touchdowns to five during his time at Stanford. But things are very different in the NFL, and those gaps he found during his college career will be harder to come by now Montgomery is playing in the big leagues.