Kyle Monangai Fantasy Football Start or Sit Advice for Week 3

What a difference a week makes.

After drubbing the Panthers 59-37 in their opening game of the season, it felt like the Bears might threaten the NFL record for points. However, seven days later, Chicago was held to three points on a rainy day at Soldier Field, and it lost starting quarterback Caleb Williams (hamstring) in the process. That’s the give and take of football.

Now, the Bears are set to take on the Eagles on Monday Night Football to finish off Week 3, and it feels like the hopes of the team are pinned on it’s talented backfield duo: D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai. Can the latter be fantasy relevant in primetime? Let’s break it down.

Kyle Monangai Start or Sit Advice vs. Eagles

Before we even touch the implication of the Williams injury, let’s simply understand what sort of backfield committee we’re working with here. Make no mistake, Kyle Monangai is Swift’s back-up. The sophomore is uber-talented, and he flirted with 1,000 scrimmage yards in his rookie campaign in 2025, but Monangai’s value has a ceiling based on his current entrenched role. The former seventh-round pick has seen 38.3% of the Bears’ offensive snaps through two games, whereas Swift has been on the field for 62.4% of plays. Monangai has averaged exactly 12.0 touches across Week 1 and Week 2, while Swift has averaged 20.0. Swift’s also garnered all three of the team’s running back rushing attempts inside the five-yard line, so if one of these two men is going to score a touchdown this evening, the odds are in favor of the veteran back who just inked a $33 million contract extension.

Alright. Now let’s get out of the vacuum and back to the crushing reality of the situation. The loss of Caleb Williams is massive for the overall prospects of Chicago’s offense. Case Keenum is a 38-year-old journeyman who has started all of four games since the end of 2019. His most recent action came in 2023 with the Texans, when Keenum averaged a pathetic 2.0 adjusted net yards per pass attempt over two contests, all while throwing three interceptions to a single TD. Maybe he’ll be a check-down machine and the Bears’ passing attack will heavily involve their running backs, but outside of that PPR dream scenario, Keenum’s presence doesn’t portend good results for anyone on Chicago’s sideline — especially an RB on the wrong-end of a time share.

Let’s not forget about the Eagles, either. Philadelphia has surrendered 127.0 opponent rushing yards per game coming into Week 3, but the Eagles front seven is among the best in the sport, and I’d expect stingier results are on the horizon. There’s a reason Chicago’s team scoring prop is set at a microscopic 18.5 points on the DraftKings Sportsbook. Philly’s defense projects to be among the top units in the NFL in 2026, and I’m having a hard time envisioning a Keenum-led offense giving the Eagles much issue on Monday.

The Bottom Line

If you strip away the name Kyle Monangai and the sunk cost of where you drafted him, there’s just not a lot to like about this situation.

It’s already difficult to have fantasy value as a back-up running back under any circumstance. Now imagine trying to squeeze notable statistical impact out of 11-14 touches on a team playing with it’s back-up QB under center. Now add in an elite defensive line. Things get pretty dark pretty fast.

In season long formats, Monangai is an easy fade in Week 3. In Showdown, the optics are slightly more favorable, as the second-year back’s $5,600 salary is $4,000 cheaper than D’Andre Swift’s. I’m still not thrilled about Monangai’s upside this evening, but at that price, he’s viable in a FLEX position.