The Chicago Bears struggled to produce on the ground in their first four games this season, and head coach Ben Johnson made it clear he took that personally. The offenses he coordinated in Detroit had the run game as a core function, and the Bears' run game just wasn't there yet.
Adjustments were clearly made during the Week 5 bye. Theo Benedet has taken over at left tackle, and D'Andre Swift has topped 100 yards on the ground in both games since. History also shows, as Johnson would be keenly aware of from three seasons together in Detroit, the workload Swift was on pace for before the bye is not sustainable to him being his healthiest and most efficient.
On a short week, and with Swift on the injury report with a groin issue, Week 7 against the New Orleans Saints vaguely felt like an opportunity for rookie Kyle Monangai to get more work. That came to fruition, with 13 carries for 81 yards and the first touchdown of his career. He also added two catches for 13 yards.
Going deeper, Monangai made a push toward making the Bears' backfield an equal time share. He played a season-high 31 snaps (a 44.9 percent snap share), compared to 37 snaps and a 53.6 snap share for Swift.
Monangai's workload against the Saints was not driven by the Bears getting out to a 20-0 lead in the first half. He was getting work early in the game, and as Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus revealed he played more third-down snaps than Swift for the first time.
Kyle Monangai is asserting himself in the Bears' backfield hierarchy
Fantasy managers know very well how fruitful the No. 2 running back role was in Johnson's Lions' offenses. Monangai has had a hold on that role for the Bears all along, but with Swift taking so much of the work, relevant production hadn't come. After he posted 44 yards from scrimmage in Week 6, the rookie had a full breakthrough in Week 7.
Before his recent upward trend, which truly started in that Week 6 against the Commanders when he played about 34 percent of the offensive snaps, Monangai had appeal to fantasy managers in deeper leagues as a roster stash who'd be in line for a lead back role if anything ever happened to Swift.
Barring a significant injury, Swift isn't going anywhere (19 carries against the Saints). But Monangai now looks like a significant factor in the Bears' backfield, with Jahnke of PFF and Erik Beaston of Bleacher Report hitting similar notes to profess him as top waiver wire add for Week 8.
Jahnke:
"Head coach Ben Johnson had a two-man backfield in Detroit where both running backs were fantasy-relevant, and it’s starting to look like this Bears’ duo could emulate that. Monangai should be picked up off waiver wires in case Chicago’s rushing attack continues to be very successful."
"The Bears face the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals over the next two weeks — the two teams that have allowed the most fantasy points to running backs heading into Week 8. Monangai could be a great short-term option at the position, as there are 10 teams on a bye over the next two weeks."
Beaston:
"Head coach Ben Johnson is famous for his double-headed run attack in Detroit, which saw David Montgomery and Jamhyr Gibbs find tremendous success while serving as the centerpiece of the Lions' offense."
"It is unlikely that Monangai will steal a ton of snaps from D'Andre Swift this season, but the more he shows out when given opportunities like Sunday, the more he will impact the Bears' offense and potentially serve as an even greater fantasy breakout candidate."
"For now, he is at the very least a worthy stash candidate for managers in deeper leagues, especially with a Week 8 match-up against a bad Ravens defense allowing the second-most fantasy points to opposing teams (running backs)."
As noted above, the Bears next two opponents (the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals) are the two most generous to opposing running backs in terms of fantasy points allowed so far this season. A particularly rough Week 3 against the Detroit Lions' running back tandem skews things for the Ravens, but multiple backs in multiple other games have produced against them.
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Monangai is only rostered in 7 percent of Yahoo! leagues and 4.1 percent of ESPN leagues as Week 8 waivers get going. The upswing in his role lines him up as the top waiver wire add at running back this week, and having his bye week behind him adds to his appeal.