The Chicago Bears concluded their 2025 season, where they finished with an 11-6 record, an NFC North title and their first playoff win in 15 years under first-year head coach Ben Johnson. And there's no denying that the future is incredibly bright.
Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be counting down our 15 Most Impactful Bears from the 2025 season, which features plenty of young talent that made huge contributions in Chicago's magical season. We'll recap their 2025 season and look ahead to how they factor into 2026. There were plenty of top talent to highlight this season, which made for difficult decisions when narrowing the field to just 15 players and/or coaches.
Our No. 12 Most Impactful Bear is running back Kyle Monangai, a seventh-round rookie that became part of a dynamic duo with D'Andre Swift to give the Bears the No. 3 rushing offense in the league.
The Basics
- Position: Running back
- Age: 23
- Experience: 1st season
- 2025 cap hit: $872,000
2025 stats
- 169 carries, 783 yards, 5 touchdowns
- 30 targets, 18 receptions, 164 yards
2025 recap
For much of the 2025 offseason, the Bears seemed destined to select a running back in the NFL Draft. Players like Ashton Jeanty, TreVeyon Henderson, and Kaleb Johnson were floated as possibilities to give Ben Johnson's offense a skilled playmaker to utilize. The Bears thwarted expectations when they waited until the seventh round to address the position when they selected Kyle Monangai. Despite being a late-round pick, Monangai quickly made a strong first impression and became the primary backup behind D'Andre Swift. His first big opportunity came in Week 7 against the New Orleans Saints when Monangai ran for 81 yards on 13 carries and scored his first touchdown. It wasn't until Week 9, however, that he made a name for himself. Monangai started in place of an injured Swift against the Cincinnati Bengals and ran 26 times for 176 yards. It was the second-most rushing yards in a single game by a Bears rookie in team history. From then on, Monangai saw more opportunities and formed a dangerous one-two punch with Swift and had more memorable moments. Monangai's punishing running style complemented Swift's quickness well, and the rookie played an important role in the offense's success, though he did seem to hit a rookie wall the final few games of the season.
2026 outlook
Running back success can be fleeting, but Monangai should still be a consistent contributor going into Year 2. He just may not make the transition to a full-time starter. In this offense, however, that's okay. Johnson prefers to utilize multiple running backs, and Monangai will continue to play a key role as the bruiser in between the tackles. The biggest question will be if he will still be playing with Swift, who isn't certain to return in 2026 as he enters the final year of his deal. We'll see what happens at the position, but Monangai should continue to be a running back that can rush for 800+ yards a season.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Most Impactful Bears of 2025: No. 12 Kyle Monangai