 Monangai withRutgers in 2023 | |||||||||||||
| No. 25 – Chicago Bears | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (2002-06-06)June 6, 2002 (age 23) Roseland, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 207 lb (94 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Don Bosco Prep(Ramsey, New Jersey) | ||||||||||||
| College | Rutgers (2020–2024) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2025: 7th round, 233rd overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||||||
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Kyle Monangai (/ˌməˈnʌŋˌgaɪ/ born June 6, 2002) is an American professionalfootballrunning back for theChicago Bears of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theRutgers Scarlet Knights and was selected by the Bears in the seventh round of the2025 NFL draft.
Born and raised inRoseland, New Jersey toCameroonian parents, Monangai attendedSeton Hall Preparatory School in West Orange for his freshman and sophomore years before transferring toDon Bosco Preparatory High School inRamsey, New Jersey.[1] As a senior, he had over 900 rushing yards with 11touchdowns, and 400 receiving yards with five touchdowns. He committed toRutgers University to play college football.[2][3]
Monangai played in five games his first year at Rutgers in 2020 and did not have a carry. He played in 11 games in 2021 and had 236 yards on 62 carries with four touchdowns.[4] As a sophomore in 2022, he started 11 of 12 games and recorded 445 yards on 109 carries with two touchdowns.[5] Monangai returned as a starter in 2023.[6] He became the first Rutgers running back sinceJawan Jamison in 2012 to rush for 1,000 yards, finishing the season with 1,262 rushing yards and 8 rushing touchdowns en route to All Big-Ten Second Team honors.[7][8]
| Rutgers Scarlet Knights | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||||
| GP | GS | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | Rec | Yards | Avg | TD | |||||
| 2020 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | ||||
| 2021 | 11 | 0 | 62 | 236 | 3.8 | 4 | 10 | 68 | 6.8 | 0 | ||||
| 2022 | 12 | 11 | 109 | 445 | 4.1 | 2 | 6 | 31 | 5.2 | 0 | ||||
| 2023 | 13 | 13 | 242 | 1,262 | 5.2 | 8 | 8 | 78 | 9.8 | 0 | ||||
| 2024 | 11 | 11 | 256 | 1,279 | 5.0 | 13 | 14 | 75 | 5.4 | 1 | ||||
| Career | 52 | 35 | 669 | 3,222 | 4.8 | 27 | 38 | 252 | 6.6 | 1 | ||||
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| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft8+1⁄4 in (1.73 m) | 211 lb (96 kg) | 28+3⁄4 in (0.73 m) | 9 in (0.23 m) | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 4.60 s | 1.54 s | 2.70 s | 4.40 s | 34.5 in (0.88 m) | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) | ||
| All values fromNFL Combine/Pro Day[9][10] | ||||||||||||
Monangai was selected by theChicago Bears with the 233rd overall pick in the seventh round of the2025 NFL draft.[11]
He began his rookie season as the backup halfback behindD'Andre Swift, seeing limited action on situational offensive plays.[12][13] In Week 7 against theNew Orleans Saints, he scored his first touchdown on a one-yard run.[14] When Swift missed Week 9 due to injury, Monangai became the starter and recorded 26 carries for 176 yards along with three catches for 22 yards as the Bears beat theCincinnati Bengals; his rushing yards were the second most in a game by a Bears rookie behindAnthony Thomas in 2001, while the 198 total yards were the fifth highest for a rookie in team history.[15][16] Monangai and Swift began to split carries following the latter's recovery.[17] In a Week 13 win over thePhiladelphia Eagles, the duo combined for 255 rushing yards as Monangai had 130 yards and a touchdown. They became the first running back teammates to each record at least 100 rushing yards in a game sinceEzekiel Elliott andTony Pollard for theDallas Cowboys in 2019, and the first Bears duo sinceWalter Payton andMatt Suhey in 1985.[18][19]