The Chicago Bears had wanted to select a running back in the 2025 draft earlier. Unfortunately, circumstances worked against them. Ashton Jeanty went 6th overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. TreVeyon Henderson went one pick ahead of them to New England in the 2nd round. Cam Skattebo went near the top of the 4th round. GM Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson couldn't catch a break. They were running out of options. However, running backs coach Eric Bieniemy wasn't worried. He knew the team still had a solution out there. The trick was convincing Poles and Johnson that the kid was worth it.
Kyle Monangai had put together two excellent seasons at Rutgers in college, going over 1200 yards rushing each time. The primary issue was his overall lack of physical traits. He had average size and average speed. Nothing really stuck out about him. Bieniemy felt differently. In watching film, he noticed right away that Monangai had certain traits that would translate perfectly to the NFL. In fact, the young running back reminded him of somebody the coach knew well. He revealed the comparison to Nicholas Moreano of Marquee Sports.
“When I first had an opportunity to watch Kyle, he reminded me of someone, not myself,” Bieniemy said. “Reminds me of Kareem Hunt, and watching him and studying him on tape, going back to my days of reviewing tape on Kareem, those two are very, very similar. That’s the person that I see. Now, he has a lot to live up to because Kareem has had an outstanding career, but the kid takes a tremendous amount of pride in the little things, so that’s important. Now we just got to continue to grow.”
Eric Bieniemy knows what he's talking about.
He was with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017 when they drafted Kareem Hunt. Like Monangai, he was a highly productive player in college at a less notable program, Toledo. However, his average size and athleticism didn't wow scouts and draft experts. Still, the Chiefs saw enough to take him in the 3rd round. He proceeded to start that season, rushing for 1,327 yards and eight touchdowns, which earned him a Pro Bowl selection. Since then, he has remained a strong contributor for years, averaging 4.0 yards per carry this season at age 30.
So when Monangai gashed the Cincinnati Bengals for 176 yards last Sunday, one can imagine how vindicated Eric Bieniemy must've felt. It was proof again that traits aren't everything. If a running back has good vision, contact balance, strength, and versatility, he will have success in the NFL.
