D’Andre Swift has been a workhorse out of the the Chicago Bears’ backfield for over a year now, without much production coming from the depth behind him. Kyle Monangai finally broke out and found paydirt against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, though, so a shift could be on the horizon in Chicago.
Monangai is currently rostered in just 4% of ESPN leagues and 7% of Yahoo leagues, but his ownership rate is sure to skyrocket when waivers go through this week. So is the rookie worth a claim, or should you save your remaining free agent budget for someone else?
Where did Kyle Monangai come from?
The Bears selected Monangai in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft, scooping him up at No. 233 overall. The 23-year-old played five seasons at Rutgers. He led the Big Ten in rushing yards in 2023, then had more touches than anyone else in the conference in 2024. Between his redshirt junior and redshirt senior years, Monangai racked up 2,541 yards and 21 touchdowns on 498 carries, plus 153 yards and a touchdown on 22 receptions. He averaged 112.3 scrimmage yards per game as an upperclassman, making him one of the most productive ball-carriers in the nation.
Monangai measured in at 5-foot-8 and 211 pounds at the NFL Combine, running a 4.60-second 40-yard dash. He was the 22nd running back off the board come draft weekend, hearing his name called 12 picks before Jacory Croskey-Merritt.
Kyle Monangai Fantasy Value
Monangai got just nine snaps against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1, catching one target for 11 yards. Amid a Week 2 blowout at the hands of the Detroit Lions, Monangai saw the field on 41.2% of offensive snaps and wound up with seven carries and three targets. He was only able to convert those into 4.6 PPR fantasy points, however.
From there, Monangai settled into a more supportive role. His snap share drifted between 27% and 35% across Weeks 3, 4 and 6, which came along with a total of 15 carries and two receptions. Monangai took a massive step forward in Week 7, turning 13 carries into 81 yards and a touchdown. The rookie also notched his first career multi-catch game, securing two of three targets for 13 yards. Monangai was on the field for 44.9% of offensive snaps en route to 17.4 PPR fantasy points.
Swift is still the Bears’ No. 1 running back, especially after going for 313 yards and two touchdowns over his last two games. And yet, Swift has gone from posting an 80.6% snap share in Week 1 and a 66.2% snap share in Week 4 to 56.3% and 53.6% marks following the team’s Week 5 bye. Head coach Ben Johnson famously balanced Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery during his time in Detroit, after all, so he could be aiming to create a similar dynamic in Chicago. Swift has been listed as questionable with hip and groin injuries in recent weeks, too, even if those ailments haven’t cost him any starts yet.
Is Kyle Monangai worth a roster spot?
It depends how deep your bench is and how many teams are in your league, but Monangai certainly has value as a handcuff moving forward. Especially if you have Swift, Monangai could be a really solid insurance policy. Should Swift go down – either long term or just for one game – Monangai is in line to take over his role and then some. While Roschon Johnson is listed as the Bears’ RB2 on their official depth chart, he has two carries and zero targets this season. Travis Homer coming off the injured reserve is unlikely to impact Monangai’s value, either, considering he has totaled nine touches across 27 games in Chicago.
Even if Swift plays 17 games, Monangai has momentum on his side. He is hotter than higher-drafted rookies like TreVeyon Henderson, R.J. Harvey, Bhayshul Tuten and Kaleb Johnson, and he has a brighter future than veteran rotational pieces like Kareem Hunt, Jeremy McNichols and Devin Singletary. In short, stash him if you can, since he could become a viable FLEX option sooner rather than later.
