One good game against the Cincinnati Bengals’ defense isn’t enough to crown anyone the best player in the league. Then again, what does it say that the player with the most rushing yards against the hapless 2025 Bengals is none other than Chicago Bears rookie Kyle Monangai?
The seventh-round pick out of Rutgers blasted through, slalomed around, and ran by (in that order) Cindy’s defense last Sunday to the tune of 176 yards, the most by a Bears rookie rusher since Anthony Thomas in 2001. Not to mention,
that was his first career start, which came in relief of injured veteran D’Andre Swift.
While Swift has played better of late, let’s just say the Bears didn’t miss him against Cincy. Which begs the question: how much will things change now that he’s back?
Swift, who missed last week’s game due to a nagging groin injury, practiced in a limited fashion on Wednesday but claimed he’ll return to the lineup this week against the New York Giants. Honestly, him missing the time was a shame: two of his last three games went for more than 100 yards, the best-looking stretch of his Bears career.
But that’s how football is: guys get hurt, and others step up. And Monangai’s performance and usage can be ignored.
The rookie runner was already trending upward with his snap counts before Swift sat out due to injury, nearly splitting snaps in Weeks 7 and 8 before taking over the starting role last week in Cincy. Going nuclear on the Bengals could net him a similar split share this week. Then again, if Swift returns while he isn’t 100%, there’s the possibility that Monangai stays the lead back in practice even if Swift started.
To be sure, Monangai brings a stylistic element to the Bears’ offense that Swift doesn’t. The Rutgers grad has the league’s tenth-best Elusive Rating (from Pro Football Focus) among runners with 35 carries or more, with 226 of his 362 yards coming after contact. Swift, meanwhile, is 50th in Elusive Rating and has forced just 13 missed tackles on his 117 touches, compared to 20 missed tackles forced on 77 touches for his young counterpart.
While Swift might provide more receiving and pass-blocking experience at this point in his career, it’s hard to argue he runs the football better than Monangai. Swift’s play had begun to improve, so we’ll see if that holds upon his return. Furthermore, unless he’s awful, it’s likely the Bears will rely on the veteran as a starter going forward, especially if they make the playoffs.
But if Swift starts to stumble, it might be interesting to see what the Bears offense looks like with Monangai getting the lion’s share of carries and closing games. It seems clear he’s the more dynamic runner between the two, and involving him more might be key to the Bears’ offense continuing its mid-season surge.
