While Colston Loveland and Luther Burden get most of the attention from draft media, it’s always interesting to hear what scouts inside the league are saying. The same goes for college coaches. These are guys who actually had to go against or work with a lot of these young players. One name that keeps popping up over the past week is Kyle Monangai. That might seem odd since he is only a 7th round pick from a perennial underachieving program at Rutgers, but the running back has a reputation.
Adam Rittenberg of ESPN reached out to coaches around college football for their assessments on how the draft went. Not only are they big fans of Loveland, who they see as having star potential, but Monangai was also considered one of the better value picks in the draft.
Coaches saw value in several of the running backs drafted toward the end of Day 3, including the Big 12 group of Kansas State’s DJ Giddens (fifth round, Indianapolis Colts), Kansas’ Devin Neal (sixth round, New Orleans Saints) and Tahj Brooks (sixth round, Cincinnati), as well as Rutgers’ Kyle Monangai (seventh round, Chicago).
Monangai is one of those classic throwback-type players. He won’t wow you with his speed or agility. He’s also not the biggest to play the position. Yet his understated strength, contact balance, and vision make him a headache to deal with.
It sounds like Kyle Monangai will get a serious opportunity.
The Bears didn’t just take him as an emergency flyer. Based on how GM Ryan Poles has talked following the draft, the team is in no hurry to add another running back. They feel the array of players they have is worth moving forward with, at least for now. They really like Kyle Monangai, along with D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson. If Ben Johnson’s offense works like it did in Detroit, those three could form a productive trio. Monangai has the necessary vision and tackle-breaking ability to become that grinder back like David Montgomery was. If the rookie looks lost for whatever reason during the spring, only then will they consider alternatives. Based on reports like this one, it is easy to understand the decision to wait.
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