Kyle Monangai

Chicago's RB room remains unsettled with D'Andre Swift potentially still in the picture and the team likely to address the position in free agency or draft. Monangai's role and touch allocation remain unclear heading into 2025.

D'Andre Swift's contract situation creates massive uncertainty - the Bears can save $7.4M by releasing him before March 15, but Swift wants to stay and just had a career year (1,087 yards, 9 TDs). Reports from the Super Bowl suggest Swift could be cut, making Monangai's role highly volatile heading into 2026.

D'Andre Swift remains Chicago's lead back entering 2026 after a career-best season (1,087 rush yards, 9 TDs), capping Monangai to 37% snap and 33% carry share. Swift's minimal $1.33M cap hit makes a trade or cut unlikely despite offseason rumors, keeping Monangai's floor suppressed.

Game logs confirm a still-capped role behind Swift — ~37% snaps and 33% carry share with target share flat at ~10%. Standalone weekly value is RB3/flex until the split tips decisively in his favor.

Even if Swift stays, Monangai faces a timeshare with a 27-year-old veteran who earned the RB1 role convincingly. The Bears were the only team with two RBs in the top 25 in rushing yards (Swift 12th, Monangai 24th), suggesting both will continue splitting work.

Monangai's target share oscillated between 3-10% in his final four games and his snaps dipped as low as 37%, indicating he is not yet trusted as a three-down back. Limited passing-game integration caps his PPR ceiling and leaves him exposed to negative game-script in close/late situations.

As a seventh-round pick, Monangai totaled 783 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 169 attempts with 164 receiving yards on 18 receptions in 2025. When Swift missed Week 9, he recorded 176 rushing yards and 22 receiving yards in a game, proving starter capability.

If Swift is released (saving $7.4M), Monangai would immediately vault into the RB1 role in Ben Johnson's elite rushing offense that finished 3rd in NFL rushing yards. His 176-yard, 198-total-yard performance when Swift missed Week 9 proved he can handle a workhorse role.

Ben Johnson's offense ranked 3rd in rushing yards (2,456) and utilized heavy play-action (2nd in NFL) with elite QB Caleb Williams and receiving weapons (Loveland, Odunze, Burden), creating optimal conditions for RB production and keeping defenses honest.

Swift is on a one-year deal and will hit free agency after the 2026 season, potentially handing Monangai an uncontested RB1 role in one of the NFL's most explosive offenses as early as 2027. This is the single biggest dynasty catalyst and is already trending toward happening.

Monangai ranked RB30 in PPR as a 7th-round rookie with 783 rush yards, 5 TDs, and 169 carries — the hallmarks of a workhorse profile. Year-2 backs with proven rookie carry loads frequently show meaningful efficiency and usage jumps as the offensive system becomes familiar.

Swift enters the final year of his deal; the Bears carry the lowest cap space in the NFL (~$219K) and would clear $6.9M by trading him against only $1.8M dead cap. Active trade rumors (including the Seahawks) and Bears' cap math make Swift's post-2026 departure the base-case scenario that hands Monangai a top-5 offensive backfield.