Six weeks into the NFL season, it is officially time to start looking into fantasy football trades.
Whether you’re fighting for a playoff spot and looking for a Hail Mary, or you’re undefeated and trying to prey on the desperate teams, there is a large enough sample size to start some serious conversations about how to move forward. Injuries have left plenty of managers short-handed, as have disappointing starts from some notable stars.
Fantasy football trades are always tough to get across the finish line, so it could take a while for a deal to come together. Before Week 8 gets underway, it’s time to take stock of where certain players of note stand — like A.J. Brown, Drake London, Brian Thomas Jr., Ja’Marr Chase, Ladd McConkey, CeeDee Lamb, Alvin Kamara, Chase Brown, Derrick Henry, Jaylen Waddle, Breece Hall and Rashee Rice. DraftKings is here to break down who could be worth moving, with Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery up next.
David Montgomery Fantasy Value
Montgomery has been incredibly consistent over the course of his NFL career, breaking 1,000 scrimmage yards in each of his first six seasons. He reached new heights when he joined the Lions, rushing for 13 touchdowns in 2023 and 12 more in 2024. He was RB17 last year and RB9 the year before that, never dipping below RB22 since his rookie year in 2019. Coming into 2025, Montgomery was coming off the board around the sixth round of most fantasy drafts. The 28-year-old was RB23 on average, which put him around Isiah Pacheco, R.J. Harvey and Tony Pollard.
In Week 1, Montgomery rushed for just 25 yards on 11 carries. While Montgomery caught all four of his targets, he took them for just 18 yards. Montgomery followed up that 8.3-point performance with 13.1 PPR fantasy points in Week 2, though, then he blew up with 29.4 PPR points in Week 3. The very next week, all Montgomery could muster up was 12 yards on nine carries. He bounced back with 65 yards and a touchdown in Week 5 – plus a passing touchdown that brought him up to 18.22 points. The veteran nearly tossed another touchdown in Week 6 before a late penalty not negated ir, while he rushed for 21 yards on 13 carries prior to Detroit’s Week 8 bye.
Montgomery is currently averaging 5.1 yards per touch, which is a career-high. Since getting seven red-zone carries in Week 5, however, he hasn’t logged a single one. On the whole, Montgomery is averaging 12.0 PPR fantasy points per game, making him RB18. His 39.5% snap share is right around his 41.4% mark from 2024.
Should I trade David Montgomery?
If you have Montgomery, you’re probably frustrated with the up-and-down nature of his campaign thus far. He hasn’t been consistent enough to be a serious RB2, and he has even been a little sporadic by FLEX standards. But there is reason to believe Montgomery can bounce back, so don’t rush to sell.
Coach Dan Campbell said last week that he wanted to even out the workload in the backfield a little more moving forward. Jahmyr Gibbs proceeded to score two touchdowns with over 200 yards from scrimmage, so it’s understandable that Montgomery didn’t get more run on Monday night. Assuming Gibbs won’t be that explosive every single week moving forward, Montgomery won’t always have to compete with as hot of a hand.
Montgomery is a year older and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is now head honcho for the Chicago Bears, so he isn’t in the exact same situation he was a year ago. Still, enough has stayed the same that there is reason to believe Montgomery can start getting more red zone looks and become a reliable RB2 again. Take out the controversial illegal formation call against the Chiefs and Montgomery would have hit double digits four times in five weeks, averaging 14.0 PPR fantasy points in that stretch.
If you have enough running back depth and multiple other FLEX options, you can always explore moving Montgomery. Since he is on bye this week, though, you probably wouldn’t be able to get anything of value until next Tuesday. And even then, he isn’t the kind of player who could net a blockbuster return in a 1-for-1 swap.
What trade package could David Montgomery fetch?
In terms of direct trades, other running backs you might be able to get for Montgomery are Breece Hall, Rachaad White and Tony Pollard. Hall and Pollard are lead backs for completely inept offenses, while White will see he role shrink when Bucky Irving returns from injury. Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle are on a similar tier, but the future of the Panthers’ backfield remains a mystery. Receivers in the same ballpark are Tetairoa McMillan, Michael Pittman and Stefon Diggs, who could all be worthwhile additions.
Most of those players come with more baggage, question marks or uncertainty than Montgomery, though. Montgomery would be better off used as a piece in a 2-for-1 where you can actually upgrade your roster instead of making a risky lateral move. Package Montgomery with a WR2 and maybe you can pry a WR1 away from a team desperate enough for running back help. Or if you have surplus at receiver, add a wideout to Montgomery and see how good of a running back you can get in return.
