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By hiring Ben Johnson as the team's next head coach, the Chicago Bears are intent on turning their offense around in 2025. The Bears maintained that focus in the 2025 NFL Draft, where they spent five of their eight picks on offense, capped off by running back Kyle Monangai in the seventh round.
One year after taking Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick, the Bears clearly focused their 2025 offseason on giving him the best chance to succeed. Between Johnson's hiring and the three-day draft, Chicago executed momentous trades for offensive linemen Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson. The moves were blatantly necessary after Williams took a league-high 68 sacks in 2024.
The additions of Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III headlined Chicago's 2025 draft class. However, ending the process with Monangai was arguably the team's best value pick. As a seventh-round selection, Monangai will not have the prestige of any of his fellow Bears rookies, but he has a uniquely clear path to immediate success. Nobody is betting on him to thrive out of the gates, but the former Rutgers star could not have landed in a better situation.
Bears' running game struggled in 2024
The Bears' entire offense struggled in 2024, but few teams ran the ball as poorly as they did. D'Andre Swift fell just 41 yards shy of his second consecutive 1,000-yard season, but did so on a dreadful 3.8 yards per carry. Backup Roschon Johnson was somehow even worse, taking his 55 carries for just 150 yards, averaging a mere 2.7 yards per attempt. Williams and D.J. Moore were the only players to average more than 4.0 yards per carry on over 10 attempts.
With how they conducted the offseason, the Bears are preparing to be one of the league's most pass-dominant offenses in 2025. Ben Johnson operated a run-dominant offense with the Detroit Lions. Yet, as a former quarterback, his bread and butter has always been in the passing game. Chicago hired him for the sole purpose of getting the most out of Williams. However, the former prodigy will have nothing to build on without an adequate run game.
Swift and Roschon Johnson return in 2025, with Monangai thrown into the mix. Swift reunites with Ben Johnson, under whom he started his career in Detroit. His three-year stint with the Lions gave him the start he needed, but his career truly took off with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023. Coach Johnson's preference for inside run schemes rather than outside zone sets kept him in more of a change-of-pace role than a true workhorse lead back. Swift will still open the year as the starter, but with a much shorter leash than in 2024.
To Swift and Roschon Johnson's credit, few running backs would have been able to thrive behind the offensive line they had to work with. The team's improved blockers in 2025 will be light years better than what they had in 2024. Still, blocking did not have much to do with Chicago's inability to run between the tackles and in short-yardage scenarios, which is where Monangai comes in.
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Kyle Monangai is the perfect fit
With 2,541 rushing yards over the last two seasons, Kyle Monangai entered the 2025 NFL Draft as one of the most underrated running backs in the class. With a plethora of backfield options, the bruising tailback waited until round seven to hear his name called. When he eventually did, he could not have landed on a better team for his particular skill set.
Seventh-round picks are never guaranteed a roster spot, but Monangai has a legitimate chance to begin the season as the backup to Swift. Despite being linked to Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in the offseason, Chicago failed to add another veteran to its backfield. The Bears' need for a reliable and physical inside runner remained unattended until they took Monangai with their final selection.
Given Swift's struggles as an inside runner, the Bears used Roschon Johnson in short-yardage situations. Johnson is three inches taller and nearly 20 pounds heavier than Monangai, but the latter is a much more compact and physical runner. Johnson can take contact, but Monangai welcomes it. Monangai will never beat anybody with speed, but that is not what he will ever be asked to do. Averaging over 3.0 yards after contact, he ranked sixth in the FBS in broken tackles.
Monangai has clear limitations and should never be considered a full-time starter. But given what this roster clearly needs, he has a high chance to carve out a meaningful role in 2025. He could feasibly lead the team in touchdowns if all goes well in 2025.
