Bears' Kyle Monangai has work to do to earn Ben Johnson's trust

Chicago Bears rookie running back Kyle Monangai was a mixed bag during his NFL debut against the Miami Dolphins in Week 1 of the 2025 preseason.

The good: he had six carries for 30 yards and flashed the hard-charging, tough-to-tackle, decisive skill set that made him one of the best running backs in the Big 10 over the last two years.

The bad: he was not great in pass protection.

In fact, he was horrendous.

He was so bad that he received one of the lowest Pro Football Focus grades that I've ever seen in over a decade covering football. His pass protection score was a mere 5.6.

Yes, you read that right. Five. Point. Six.

Monangai struggled with the size and power of Miami's pass rushers, often getting bucked backwards if not taken off of his feet completely.

He admitted to having a 'Welcome to the NFL' moment in his post-game interview, and acknowledged that he has work to do to adjust to the demands of picking up pass rushers in the NFL.

Monangai better get to work quickly if he wants to keep up with potentially earning the RB2 role at the end of training camp. Ben Johnson has long preached trust as an important factor in young players earning meaningful snaps, and after one exposure to NFL defenders, it's hard to trust Monangai in pass protection right now.

Fortunately, he'll have plenty of opportunities to prove he can handle the heat over the next two preseason games.

The Chicago Bears' second preseason game is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 17, against the Buffalo Bills.