Why Kyle Monangai might be the steal of the entire NFL draft

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 53 minutes ago

Every year, once the season is over, NFL Teams and their front offices sit down and dissect the roster from top to bottom to decide what comes next. Part of that is looking at the previous season's draft class and whether they developed at the pace everyone wanted. Looking at the Bears' rookies this season, not only have they developed, but more often than not, several of them play a key role in what the team wants to do on both sides of the ball.

Take the Bears' offense, for example, where Luther Burden, Ozzie Tripilo, Coleston Loveland, and Kyle Monangai all call home. Burden and Loveland shouldn't surprise anyone, nor should Tripilo, as they were taken in the first and second rounds this past draft and were expected to contribute from day one. Monangai, on the other hand, was a wild card who was a day three pick.

Now with one month left in his rookie season, the seventh-round pick has not only emerged as a diamond in the rough, but quite possibly could be the steal of this year's draft class. There is a reason he was regarded as one of the more consistent backs coming out of college: he was the definition of a workhorse at Rutgers, putting up historical program numbers during his time there.

It got to the point where some had him pegged as a fourth-round selection, so getting a fourth-round talent in the seventh round shows how much of a steal it was. Although he was sparingly used in the first three weeks, Monangai has continued to get more touches each week, which is all you can ask for from a rookie.

His best performance to date was this past Friday against the Eagles when he gashed the Eagles' defense for 130 yards on a whopping 5.9 yards per carry. That gave him his second 100-yard game of the season, pushing his season rushing total to 591 yards and five scores. That ranks him right up there with some of the better rookies in the league, including the likes of Ashton Jeanty.

A big reason for his numbers is that the Bears brought him along slowly enough to develop him, but gave him enough opportunities to keep him honest. It was in the middle portion of the schedule when he began to take over, getting more consistent touches against some of the league's worst rushing defenses before continuing that progress against the Eagles this weekend.

His recent surge in usage and production ranks him up there with the fellow rookie backs from this past season, and he may top all of them by season's end. Comparing apples to apples, Monangai's 591 yards rank him fourth among rookies, only behind Quishon Judkins, Ashton Jeanty, and TreVeyon Henderson.

The difference between them and Monangai is that they are the featured backs for their current team, while Henderson is a dead even in New England. Monangai may have fewer yards than them, but he has done that on far fewer carries and leads all rookies with an impressive 4.9 yards per carry. That doesn't just lead rookies; it ranks near the top of the NFL as he starts to churn out yards at will.

Knowing how much value Ben Johnson has always put into his running game during his time with Detroit, it shouldn't come as a surprise to see this type of production. Although a platoon back, Johnson has always gone with two running backs to run his offense, and this season is no different, as both D'Andre Swift and Monangai are starting to come into their own.

Diving deeper into Monangai and just what he has accomplished this season, he has already had one of the best seasons for rookie backs in Bears history. He ranks 12th in team history with his 591 yards, 13th in touchdowns, 12th in yards per game, and 12th in yards per carry. Those numbers should only go up in the coming weeks as Monangai will continue to get his touches across the board.