# Kyle Monangai
**Kyle Monangai** (pronounced muh-NUNG-guy; born 2002) is an [American football](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-football) running back for the [Chicago Bears](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-bears) of the [National Football League](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-football-league), drafted in the seventh round (233rd overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft after a college career at Rutgers in which he rushed for 3,221 yards, the second most in program history.[1](https://static.www.nfl.com/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/CHI.pdf) • [2](https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/kyle-monangai/splits/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Position, size | Running back, No. 25; 5 feet 8 inches, 207 pounds; born 2002[1](https://static.www.nfl.com/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/CHI.pdf) |
| Draft | Seventh round, No. 233 overall, by the Chicago Bears on April 26, 2025[2](https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/kyle-monangai/splits/) |
| College | Rutgers, 2020-24; 52 games, 35 starts; 3,221 rushing yards, second in program history; two-time All-Big Ten, First-Team in 2024[2](https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/kyle-monangai/splits/) |
| College peak | Led the Big Ten with 1,262 rushing yards in 2023; 1,279 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2024[2](https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/kyle-monangai/splits/) |
| Rookie season (2025) | 17 games, one start; 169 carries, 783 yards (4.6 average), 5 rushing touchdowns, 18 receptions for 164 yards[3](https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/kyle-monangai/) |
| Breakout game | Week 9, 2025, at Cincinnati: 176 rushing yards on 26 carries, the second-most rushing yards by a rookie in a single game in Bears history[3](https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/kyle-monangai/) |
| Ball security | Never fumbled in 707 collegiate carries[4](https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/04/27/meet-chicago-bears-rookies-loveland-burden-trapilo-turner) |
## College career at Rutgers
Monangai spent five seasons at Rutgers from 2020 to 2024 and was a team captain in his final two seasons, playing in 52 games with 35 starts.[2](https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/kyle-monangai/splits/) He became the full-time starter after [Isiah Pacheco](https://www.edgepedia.org/isiah-pacheco)'s departure and needed a year to adjust before a 2023 season in which he led the Big Ten with 1,262 rushing yards.[5](https://www.profootballnetwork.com/kyle-monangai-draft-scouting-2025/) In 2024 he rushed for 1,279 yards and 13 touchdowns, earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors, and finished his career with 3,221 rushing yards, second in Rutgers history and one of only three Scarlet Knights to reach 3,000.[2](https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/kyle-monangai/splits/) Sports-[Reference](https://www.edgepedia.org/reference) records his career line as 669 carries for 3,222 yards (4.8 average) with 27 rushing touchdowns, plus 38 receptions for 252 yards.[6](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/kyle-monangai-1.html)
He prepped at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, New Jersey, where as a senior he rushed for over 900 yards and 11 touchdowns, added 400 receiving yards and five more scores, and earned First-Team All-Bergen County honors while leading the Ironmen to the final round of the NJSIAA Non-Public Group 4 [Tournament](https://www.edgepedia.org/tournament).[1](https://static.www.nfl.com/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/CHI.pdf)
## Draft evaluation
Scouting reports entering the 2025 draft described a compact, well-leveraged runner with a low center of gravity, near-elite contact balance, and sharp vision through interior lanes, along with aggressive, combative pass blocking.[5](https://www.profootballnetwork.com/kyle-monangai-draft-scouting-2025/) The recurring criticisms were limited long speed and breakaway capacity, a short-strider running style, and very little receiving volume; he had never caught 10 passes in a single college season.[5](https://www.profootballnetwork.com/kyle-monangai-draft-scouting-2025/) • [7](https://lastwordonsports.com/nfl/2024/10/31/2025-nfl-draft-early-scouting-report-kyle-monangai-rutgers/) His ball security stood out as a statistical strength: he never fumbled in his collegiate career, across 707 carries.[7](https://lastwordonsports.com/nfl/2024/10/31/2025-nfl-draft-early-scouting-report-kyle-monangai-rutgers/) • [4](https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/04/27/meet-chicago-bears-rookies-loveland-burden-trapilo-turner) The Bears passed on the top running backs in the class and selected him in the seventh round with the 233rd overall pick.[4](https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/04/27/meet-chicago-bears-rookies-loveland-burden-trapilo-turner)
## NFL career
**Rookie season, 2025.** Monangai appeared in all 17 games with one start, recording 169 carries for 783 yards (4.6 average) and five touchdowns, plus 18 receptions for 164 yards.[3](https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/kyle-monangai/) His role grew through the season alongside veteran [D'Andre Swift](https://www.edgepedia.org/dandre-swift) under head coach [Ben Johnson](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-johnson-american-football-coach), and the pair combined for 102 of the Bears' first downs as the team finished with the third-best rushing attack in the NFL at 2,456 yards; they were the only running back tandem in the league to each rush for 750 or more yards.[8](https://www.chicagobears.com/news/bears-2025-position-review-running-back-dandre-swift-kyle-monangai)
His first NFL touchdown came in the Week 7 win over New Orleans, where he rushed for 81 yards on 13 carries.[8](https://www.chicagobears.com/news/bears-2025-position-review-running-back-dandre-swift-kyle-monangai) Two weeks later, with Swift out with an injury, Monangai took on a starter's workload in [Cincinnati](https://www.edgepedia.org/cincinnati) and recorded 198 yards from scrimmage, including 176 rushing yards on 26 carries (6.8 average), in a 47-42 win over the Bengals.[8](https://www.chicagobears.com/news/bears-2025-position-review-running-back-dandre-swift-kyle-monangai) That 176-yard game was the second-most rushing yards by a rookie in a single game in Bears history.[3](https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/kyle-monangai/)
He set two further franchise marks as a rookie. In Week 12 against the Steelers, his 48-yard, one-touchdown day made him the first Bears rookie with a rushing touchdown in three straight home games since [Walter Payton](https://www.edgepedia.org/walter-payton) in 1975.[2](https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/kyle-monangai/splits/) In Week 13 at Philadelphia, he ran for 130 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, and he and Swift became the first Bears duo to each reach 100 rushing yards in the same game since Payton and Matt Suhey in 1985.[2](https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/kyle-monangai/splits/) He played in both of Chicago's postseason games, rushing for 63 yards on 21 attempts.[2](https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/kyle-monangai/splits/) He finished the season with 947 scrimmage yards, second on the team behind Swift.[8](https://www.chicagobears.com/news/bears-2025-position-review-running-back-dandre-swift-kyle-monangai)
**Second season, 2026.** Monangai entered 2026 as part of the same backfield with Swift. Through the first four games he carried 60 times for 324 yards (5.4 average) and 3 touchdowns, with 5 receptions for 39 yards.[3](https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/kyle-monangai/) In a Week 4 win over the [New York Jets](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-jets) he rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 30 carries.[3](https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/kyle-monangai/) [Pro Football Focus](https://www.edgepedia.org/pro-football-focus) graded his 2026 play at 74.7 overall, ninth among 47 qualified running backs, with 3.8 yards after contact per attempt.[9](https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/kyle%20monangai/129891)
## Running style
Monangai's game is built on power and balance at 5 feet 8 inches and 207 pounds. Evaluators credited his energetic leg churn, low-to-the-ground leverage, and ability to press laterally to bait defenders before cutting upfield, with a particular fit for inside zone, gap, duo, and counter schemes.[5](https://www.profootballnetwork.com/kyle-monangai-draft-scouting-2025/) The trade-offs are limited top-end speed and short-stride running that can cap his ability to outrun defenders in the open field.[5](https://www.profootballnetwork.com/kyle-monangai-draft-scouting-2025/) In Chicago he has been used as the physical complement to the faster Swift, handling short-yardage and goal-line work and routinely overpowering defenders on second-effort runs.[8](https://www.chicagobears.com/news/bears-2025-position-review-running-back-dandre-swift-kyle-monangai)
## References
1. [Chicago Bears 2025 Media Guide, Kyle Monangai player page](https://static.www.nfl.com/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/CHI.pdf)
2. [Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears player biography (splits page)](https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/kyle-monangai/splits/)
3. [Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears player page](https://www.chicagobears.com/team/players-roster/kyle-monangai/)
4. [Fun facts about the Chicago Bears' 2025 draft picks, Axios Chicago](https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/04/27/meet-chicago-bears-rookies-loveland-burden-trapilo-turner)
5. [Kyle Monangai's Draft Profile, RB Scouting Report, Pro Football Network](https://www.profootballnetwork.com/kyle-monangai-draft-scouting-2025/)
6. [Kyle Monangai College Stats, Sports-Reference](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/kyle-monangai-1.html)
7. [Early 2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Kyle Monangai, Rutgers, Last Word on Sports](https://lastwordonsports.com/nfl/2024/10/31/2025-nfl-draft-early-scouting-report-kyle-monangai-rutgers/)
8. [Bears 2025 position review: Running back, ChicagoBears.com](https://www.chicagobears.com/news/bears-2025-position-review-running-back-dandre-swift-kyle-monangai)
9. [Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears HB, NFL and PFF stats, Pro Football Focus](https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/kyle%20monangai/129891)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › American football players, coaches, and executives › Running backs › Active NFL running backs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license