Head coach Ben Johnson raves about rookie Kyle Monangai's unexpected versatility, praising his tough running, receiving skills, and pass protection.
The Chicago Bears have had some return on investment from some of the rookies they drafted in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Receiver Luther Burden III, tight end Colston Loveland, offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo, linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II and running back Kyle Monangai have all carved out roles for themselves in year one.
It's hard not to be excited about the future of Monangai's career with the Bears after how he's played in 2025. Monangai is second on the team with 591 rushing yards and has five touchdowns.
Head coach Ben Johnson loves what he's seen from the rookie running back and spoke about it on a recent appearance on "The Schrager Hour," with ESPN's Peter Schrager. He noted how Monangai can help the team with rushing or receiving, while not being afraid to help out in pass protection.
“Kyle Monongai, I mean, Holy cow! For a rookie, you would have no idea," Johnson said. "Not only is he a hard runner, willing to lower his shoulder, tough to bring down, but like this guy can do it all. He can catch the ball out of the backfield, excellent in pass protection - got a trust level with him that’s above and beyond.”
After being drafted in the seventh round of this year's draft out of Rutgers, Monangai is clearly paying off. What's crazy is that he is doing so in his first year in the league.
Johnson knew just what to do with a bruising running back like Monangai. He mimicked the rushing attack that the Detroit Lions have with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. The Bears have found their own version of Gibbs and Montgomery in Monangai and D'Andre Swift.
Both Swift and Monangai have the chance to finish with over 1000 rushing yards this season, something that has only been done in the NFL five times.
While the running game has been consistent for Chicago, there was a time when that wasn't the case.
In the first two games of the season, the Bears barely managed to eclipse 100 rushing yards. Then in the next two games, Chicago couldn't even get over 100 yards on the ground.
Everything changed in the 25-24 win over the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football. Chicago got back on track with 145 total rushing yards and hasn't looked back since.
The Bears now average the second-most rushing yards per game at 153.8, as the dynamic duo of Swift and Monangai leads the backfield.
Swift and Monangai will have a tough challenge on Sunday, as they face a Green Bay Packers defense that allows around 98 yards per game to opposing rushing attacks.
We'll see how the running backs weather the storm at 3:25 p.m. CT on Fox.