Bear Digest

Tom Brady Shines Spotlight on Kyle Monangai's Fantastic Rookie Season with Bears

Tom Brady praised Bears rookie Kyle Monangai during his 2025 LFG Awards, highlighting the seventh-round pick’s physical running style and impact.
Bryan Perez|
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Chicago Bears

When Tom Brady takes time to single out a seventh-round rookie, Chicago Bears fans should pay attention.

In his 2025 LFG Awards post recognizing standout players across the league, Brady included Kyle Monangai in his Rookie of the Year commentary. Monangai didn't win the award, but the acknowledgement itself carried real weight, especially coming from The Goat.

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"I covered a lot of Bears games and watched this offense perform, and Kyle Monangai as a seventh-round pick, I kept saying sixth-round pick on the air … he ran so hard, so forceful and determined," Brady said. "He was like a dynamo back there. Every time Caleb [Williams] handed the ball off to him, he was running through people's facemasks. I love that style of play. You had a tremendous year, Kyle."

That description perfectly captured how Monangai carved out his role in Chicago during the 2025 season. He earned his reps, snap by snap, with a relentless running style that set a physical tone for the offense.

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For a Chicago Bears team that's transitioning from rebuilding to contending, Monangai's emergence really mattered. As a late-round pick, his spot on the roster wasn't even guaranteed. Yet by midseason, he had become a trusted and essential part of Ben Johnson's offense. At times, he looked like the best running back on the team.

Brady was spot on for praising Monangai's effort, violence, and consistency. They're traits that often separate running backs who are one-year wonders from those who can have long and relevant careers.

Sure, it would've been incredible if Kyle Monangai won Brady's Rookie of the Year award. But hardware like that isn't required to validate what the former Rutgers star did in 2025. There's a chance he'll emerge as Chicago's RB1 in 2026. Even if he doesn't, you can bet he'll keep running straight through facemasks.

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Bryan Perez
BRYAN PEREZ

Bryan Perez founded and operated Bears Talk, a Chicago sports blog. Prior to that, he covered the Bears for USA Today’s Bears Wire and NBC Sports Chicago. In addition to his Chicago Bears coverage, Perez is a respected member of NFL Draft media and was a past winner of The Huddle's Mock Draft competition. Bryan's past life includes time as a Northeast scout for the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks.

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