There have now been two days of training camp for the Chicago Bears and despite some of the struggles from the first-team offense, it's nice to know there is at least one offensive player who is starting to get some attention from his teammates.
ESPN Bears beat reporter Courtney Cronin shared some of her key observations from day two of training camp. Something that was pointed out by her was a late-round rookie making a strong play on the field.
"Kyle Monangai, the Bears seventh-rounder, impressed his teammates when he broke off a big run complete with juke move near the end zone."
Monangai has been garnering attention as someone who could earn a spot playing running back. His other running back colleague, D'Andre Swift, praised the rookie for how he has looked so far, as he hasn't found many flaws in his game yet.
"He don't really lack anything from what I'm seeing," running back D'Andre Swift said. "Confident in his style of play, real low to the ground, great catching the ball out of the backfield. Solid, real solid."
Chicago's backfield just got more interesting
It's easy to get caught up in the overhype of a player after just two days of training camp, but seventh-round picks are usually the ones to do it. Monangai is starting to create an interesting scenario at camp where he might just be fighting for more than a roster spot.
During his college days at Rutgers, Monangai was named to the All-Big Ten team twice. Last season, he rushed for 1,279 yards and 13 touchdowns.
He has been projected to be the number three running back in front of Travis Homer. Monangai's biggest competition in front of him is Roschon Johnson who is entering his third season with the Bears.
Swift should be a sure lock to be the starting running back, but Monangai could make things interesting. Last year, Swift average less than four yards a carry for the first time in his career and Johnson only got 2.7 yards a run. That leaves breathing room for Monangai to steal a job if he really wanted to at running back.
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There is still plenty of time during training camp for things to change, but Monangai is definitely someone to watch for Bears fans.