English
Español
David Montgomery trade grades: Texans land strong starter, Lions elevate Jahmyr Gibbs originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The "Sonic and Knuckles" era of the Lions' backfield has ended after three great seasons. David Montgomery, the power complement to Jahmyr Gibbs' dynamic speed, was traded to the Texans on Monday.
While Montgomery now has a chance to go back into the lead back role he once had with the Bears, his first NFL team, the Lions appear prepared to give Gibbs an even bigger share of their backfield touches.
Here are the grades for both Houston and Detroit and each team's outlook after the deal.
David Montgomery trade grades
Texans get:
- RB David Montgomery
Lions get:
- 2026 fourth-round draft pick
- 2026 seventh-round draft pick
- G Juice Scruggs
Texans grade: A
The Texans had to scramble last season with Joe Mixon's knee injury concerns lingering and ended up with rookie Woody Marks and former Browns star Nick Chubb, who turned 30 in December, leading the backfield. Marks was their leading rusher and receiver from the position, flashing some big-play ability.
But Marks also proved to be very inefficient working behind a mediocre offensive line. Montgomery smashed to big rushing and scoring with the Lions' dynamic blocking and high-octane scheme. He is a tough runner who gets the yards between the tackles, finishes well in a goal line and does all the little things well in the passing game. At 28 and coming off working in a committee in Detroit, Montgomery offers plenty of fresh, strong legs to be featured and help stabilize the backfield for C.J. Stroud.
Now the challenge is, in the wake of also trading right tackle Tytus Howard, how the Texans rebuild the line to give Montgomery some of the same support he had in Detroit.
MORE: David Montgomery trade details
Lions grade: A
The Texans didn't give up too much to strengthen the running back position big time. The Lions also had to be pleased about getting multiple draft picks for Montgomery given Brad Holmes' track record. They also got a swing option in Juice Scruggs to address a weakness inside.
The biggest thing for the Lions is trusting Gibbs to be a high-volume back, getting well over 20 touches per game. Gibbs averaged 17.5 touches through his first three seasons with Montgomery, while Montgomery averaged 14.1 touches per game as part of the dominant 1-2 punch.
Gibbs should continue to explode for chunk gains as a runner and receiver even if he gets up to 400 touches, which would put him in the 23.5 touches per game range. The Lions now be in the market for a viable true backup RB with Sione Vaki currently No. 2 on the depth chart.
MORE: Why Joe Mixon's future appears to be set after David Montgomery trade