The Bears pieced together an ideal running back corps with Tarik Cohen, David Montgomery and Mike Davis. It’s also one of the team’s most entertaining position groups.
The three insisted on doing their post-practice interviews together Wednesday night, and the relationships of their room quickly emerged.
Davis is the old man at 26; Cohen is going into his third season as running back, wide receiver, return man and aspiring comedian; third-rounder Montgomery is the tagalong looking to instigate whenever possible.
“Hurry up,” the rookie chimed in. “I gotta get my snack.”
They play off each other well on the field and away from it. Cohen described it as “a sponge atmosphere” because the way they each take from the other two.
The Bears envision Montgomery growing into an every-down back who can exceed what Jordan Howard gave them last season, and he’s coming along quickly. Davis can be a bruiser when needed. Cohen does a little bit of everything and is probably the most exhilarating playmaker the team has had since Devin Hester.
Cohen put up 1,169 yards from scrimmage, about 60 percent of which came on catches, and eight offensive touchdowns in his first season with coach Matt Nagy, plus he was an all-pro punt returner.
Montgomery showed similar versatility as a runner and receiver at Iowa State and has continually impressed the Bears in those areas over his first few months in the organization.
“It’s real dynamic,” Cohen said. “We got guys that can do it all. In that aspect, we’re deep.”
Montgomery and Davis found it to be an easy transition when they came to the Bears in the spring despite none of these three having any prior friendship.
Davis started with the 49ers and played the last two seasons for the Seahawks, including a career-high 728 total yards and five touchdowns last year. This is merely his fifth season, but that qualifies him as the professor of the group.
“The professor?” he scoffed. “I mean, I am the oldest. I try to tell them boys what I’ve seen throughout the years and what I’ve been through.”
He has gets a laugh from Cohen’s antics, as most teammates do. He provides a necessary infusion of energy in the seemingly endless run-up to the opener.
“Tarik is that kind of player you need on a team,” Davis said. “He’s hyped. He never gets tired. He’s the person when you’re having a down day, he can help you get through the day.”
Sometimes Cohen is a little too much fun for Davis, though, like when he whipped into training camp in a three-wheeled Polaris Slingshot.
“I didn’t even ask,” Davis said. “I don’t want no part of that.”
As for the kid, Davis said Montgomery has been ultra-inquisitive as he acclimates from the NFL after an excellent three-year run in college. He’s taking full advantage of the lessons Davis and Cohen have learned.
Montgomery believes he is fortunate to have landed with the Bears, a team that will give him an appealing opportunity but not run him into the ground. He also ended up with experienced teammates happy to help him.
“They’ve been open-arms guys, just making sure I learn as much as I can and retain as much as I can, but also allowing me to have fun with it,” Montgomery said. “Those guys have been good to me.”
But he’s not always good to them.
“I do try to get on their nerves a lot,” he said. “I am the little brother.”
It’s likely none of those three running backs will play much — or at all — in the preseason game Friday at the Giants. Most of those snaps will probably go to Ryan Nall and Kerrith Whyte Jr.
But the Davis-Montgomery-Cohen trio, nicknamed Run DMC, will be vital to the Bears when the season starts.
