[T.O.Killa]

Will Montgomery:

Positives: Has a solid frame with a thick upper body, well-developed chest and arms, broad shoulders, thick legs and solid calves...Durable athlete who never missed a game due to an injury...Has very good initial quickness off the snap and the lateral movement to be quite effective as a second level blocker on pulls and traps...Flashes good explosion in his hips coming out of his stance and has the hand quickness to recoil and punch...Does a good job of maintaining position with his strong base and anchors well, keeping his pads down to defeat the bull rush...Has the timed speed to quickly get out in space and locate the linebackers...Adjusts smoothly to a moving target, keeping his head on a swivel to pick up stunts...Has the hand placement skills to tie up and maul the defender when working in a phone booth...Shows the range to get out wide on sweeps and has the change of direction agility to redirect in-line after first bouncing out to the corner...Has a good work ethic and takes pride in the fact that he won conditioning awards the last two years.

Negatives: Even though he can shock and jolt the defender with his hand punch, he sometimes prefers to finesse his opponent rather than fist fight...Does not have the size to engulf defenders at the point of attack, making it more important that he is quick to gain position and leverage...Tends to get high in his stance, especially in pass protection, and a strong surge will then push him back into the pocket...Despite his power, he needs to get more physical and aggressive with his hands.

Montgomery is a versatile defender with quick feet to get out on traps and pulls. He has the lateral agility and balance to neutralize second level defenders and plays with good field vision. He keeps his head up on contact and improved his lower body strength in order to shuffle his feet and drive the defender off the ball.

He has very good quickness, but could be more explosive with his hands in order to shock and jolt the opponent. He is quick to locate targets on the move and adjusts well to stunts and blitzes. Montgomery has the upper body strength to maul his opponent. Even when he gets pulled off his base, he can usually regain balance and keep positioning.

Montgomery is better as a closed quarter battler in pass protection rather than redirecting to pick up the edge rushers. He will keep his head in front and stays square through his blocks. He learned how to sink his hips, drop his weight and maintain leverage better in his anchor in 2005 than he did in the past.

Montgomery shows the ability to stay in control and it is rare to see him lunge into his blocks. He is most effective when he can grab and maul the defenders with his strength and is also capable of reaching and sliding to combat the quickness or moving fronts. With his speed and upper body power, he will be very efficient for the interior running game. He still needs to add lower body strength, but has the frame to improve. I feel he is a better prospect at center due to his hand placement and quickness, reminding me of the Vikings' Matt Birk.