Fantasy Football Week 8 Waiver Wire Debate: Brashard Smith vs Kyle Monangai
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We are about midway through the fantasy football regular season and that means that it is time to make league-winning moves. Whether you are doing good or bad, you must continue to build up your roster. That can be done on the waiver wire, of course. Two hot names one the market with high upside are Brashard Smith and Kyle Monangai. Are they worthwhile pickups, and who has better value? Let us debate.
The Case for Brashard Smith
The Chiefs have showed much optimism in their rookie 7th round draft pick. Neither Isiah Pacheco or Kareem Hunt have broken into X factor performers, so it has left the door open for change in this backfield. Smith is the one with that opportunity and it may yet appear.
Smith has lingered around a 15% snap share in this backfield this season. However, he did surge past Hunt for a 35% snap share in Week 7. As this can be eyeopening, we must take it with a grain of salt. The Chiefs had been blowing out the Raiders and that is how Smith gained his share. Likely, this would not have happened if the game were closer.
The only player in the NFL with a targets per route run over 36% (Puka Nacua) is Kansas City Chiefs RB Brashard Smith pic.twitter.com/YAn2GVpxvZ
— Davis Mattek (@DavisMattek) October 20, 2025
On the season, Smith has 22 Carries for 67 Yards (3.0 YPC). His is sixth on the team is receiving with 14 Receptions for 122 Yards. In fact, Smith is the #1 ranked receiver in the NFL among running backs, per PFF. The team has continously said that he has upside in this offense and should Pacheco or Hunt go down, he has great handcuff value. We all have seen that Andy Reid will turn gold out of nothing when opportunity strikes.
The Case for Kyle Monangai
The Bears had drafted Monangai as a late pick out of Rutgers. The purpose was to contest on Roschon Johnson for the RB2 job and Monangai has passed that test with honors. Johnson has yet to play a game above 5% of team rushing snaps. Monangai has 2/3rd of team rushing snaps. In Week 7, he had 45% of snaps, just behind D'Andre Swift (55%).
Ben Johnson finally unleashed RB Kyle Monangai
— Just Another Year Chicago: Bears (@JAYChi_Bears) October 19, 2025
-13 attempts
-81 rushing yards
-1 rushing TD
-2 receptions
-13 receiving yards
Congrats to the rookie on the big day 🔥pic.twitter.com/d9ghQl3w64
Swift has been having a stellar year in this Ben Johnson offense. Really, everyone has played well in this Johnson offense. It is a credit to what he had, and has brung to Chicago. When we do compare Swift to Monangai on paper, they aren't dissimilar.
Swift has 89 Carries with 4.7 Yards per Carry and 3 Touchdowns. Monangai has 35 Carries with 4.6 Yards per Carry and 1 Touchdown. The similarity on paper shows me that they can be interchangable. Swift is surely the better player, but not by a wide margin. This opens the door for Monangai and surely makes him a great handcuff.
Waiver Wire Debate: Brashard Smith vs Kyle Monangai
Both of these players are clear handcuffs rather than start options. They lack enough work to be starters on your fantasy team. Monangai could be a departion play, but with so many mouths to be fed in Chicago, the upside is severely limited.
What we are looking at between these two players is upside. It is the magic word that we discuss all the time, but it is the key to victory. So, who has higher upside?
Monangai has the higher upside. He is the clear backup to Swift and should Swift miss time, Monangai is a clear RB2 in fantasy football. As for Smith, even if a counterpart of his missed time, Smith is still the backup and only one back can be supported in Kansas City. Perhaps Smith could eventually leapfrog Hunt, but it does look likely at the moment. He is a great pass catcher, but as a running back, it must be seen on the ground. They have too many reliable pass catchers to make Smith a volume option.
Pickup Kyle Monangai for high-upside handcuff value.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.