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Bears' Ben Johnson reveals what makes Kyle Monangai special

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI
By Pete Martuneac | Last updated Dec 3, 2025 9:55 AM ET

The 2025 NFL draft class was supposed to feature several running backs who would take the league by storm in Year 1. That ended up being true, but not in the way people think. Ashton Jeanty (selected No. 6 overall) has struggled behind a porous offensive line, and Omarion Hampton (selected No. 22 overall), who has been on injured reserve since Week 5, racked up fewer than 4 yards per carry in four of his five games so far.

On the other hand, Kyle Monangai, selected by the Chicago Bears in the seventh round, leads all rookie running backs with a commanding 4.9 yards per rush attempt. In fact, that mark is currently the 8th best out of all running backs in the NFL. The Bears clearly found a gem with the 233rd overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, and head coach Ben Johnson isn't shy about saying so.

Johnson appeared with ESPN's Peter Schrager on his podcast, The Schrager Hour, and sang Monangai's praises, calling him a running back who "can do it all" and that "you would have no idea" he's a rookie, judging by the way he's playing. He went on to say that they knew "pretty early on" that they had something special in the seventh-round rookie.

HC Ben Johnson with high praise for Bears rookie RB Kyle Monangai:

“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.”

: @PSchrags pic.twitter.com/KlGmFLexhq
— Bearsszn (@bearszn) December 3, 2025

Monangai brings the power that Chicago's running game has lacked

Working Monangai into the offense has clearly sparked the Bears' running game dominance, and that is because he brings an element that has been missing from Chicago ever since David Montgomery left in free agency: power. D'Andre Swift is a shifty runner who can make defenders miss and pick up huge gains in space, but Monangai is that bowling ball back who relishes the chance to lower his shoulder and deliver the boom.

As Johnson alluded to in his talk with Schrager, that's the kind of football that the Bears need to be playing as the calendar turns to December. Playing outside in frigid temperatures makes it harder to pass the ball or to make quick cuts. To win in winter conditions, you need a bruising back who wears a defense down and softens them up for a game-winning drive.

The only thing Monangai lacks is what Johnson referred to as "straight-line speed". He ran a pedestrian 4.6-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, and Johnson believes that's what made a lot of teams overlook the former Rutgers Scarlet Knight. And while his lack of elite speed may put a hard ceiling on Monangai, it's clear that he should never have fallen into Chicago's lap at the No. 233 selection.

But every other team's loss is Chicago's gain, and Bears fans should be excited about that.