Three Ideal Landing Spots for Rutgers Star RB in 2025 NFL Draft
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With the 2025 NFL Draft just around the corner, all eyes will be on former Rutgers star running back Kyle Monangai.
The highly-touted rusher is coming off his second-consecutive 1,200+ rushing yard season, as he average five yards per carry while grabbing 12 touchdowns in 2024. Many NFL Draft analysts have been quick to compare him to another former Rutgers running back, Isiah Pacheco. Just like the fellow Scarlet Knight, Monangai resembles a similar run style, as they both are known for their aggressive, downhill rushing ability.
Find me a running back that runs harder than Kyle Monangai pic.twitter.com/1sZzqdBVJL
— Joe DeLeone (@joedeleone) January 24, 2025
Here are three perfect landing spots for Monangai as we near the upcoming NFL Draft.
New York Giants
After letting former Giant Saquon Barkley go in free agency last year, New York has been trying to restructure their run game. General manager Joe Schoen found a diamond-in-the-rough with Tyrone Tracy Jr. in the fifth round last draft, but he would greatly benefit from an additional runner like Monangai.
While the former Rutgers star is considered to be a "bruiser" in the run game, Tracy found success in his rookie season due to his elusiveness and pass-catching ability. On the other hand, Monangai would be a perfect counterpart to Tracy's speed on the ground.
A running back duo of Monangai in early-down situations and Tracy as a third-down back would be similar to the Pittsburgh Steelers run game with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.
New England Patriots
There's a good chance that newly-hired head coach Mike Vrable will look to revamp the Patriots offense this offseason in order to assist quarterback Drake Maye.
One way in particular could be fixing the franchise's run game, which averaged 115.8 yards per game and was tied for the six-least amount of touchdowns in 2024 with 11. Monangai would fit Vrable's hard-nose offensive style from his days as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans, which included tons of gap runs.
Cincinnati Bengals
Similar to the Giants, Monangai could also be a complimentary piece for the Cincinnati Bengals alongside current running back Chase Brown.
The former 2023 fifth-round pick had a breakout season last year, as he finished with 990 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground in 2024. However, Brown's elusive run style could go well with another rusher that excels in-between the tackles. The Bengals tried to put running back Zack Moss in this role last season, but he managed to play in only eight games last year due to an injury
A fresh set of legs would provide more juice to Cincinnati's rushing attack, while also taking pressure off of quarterback Joe Burrow in the passing game.
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Dylan Feltovich attended John Carroll University and started working for numerous sites in the On SI network in 2023 as a staff writer. He has covered high school and college events around the Northeast Ohio area for several years.