The Chicago Bears may have waited until the seventh round to address running back, but they may have made one of the best value moves of Ryan Poles’ tenure as general manager. Kyle Monangai from Rutgers may not have breakaway speed, but there is a lot to his game that translates to the NFL. On her latest Making Monsters podcast, Taylor Doll spoke with Monangai’s position coach with the Scarlet Knights, Damiere Shaw.
They discuss Monangai’s development during his five years at Rutgers, what he brings to the Bears, and his fantastic ball security. They also highlight his time playing behind Isiah Pacheco and what that taught him about leadership and work ethic.
They also discuss the part of his game that has been buzzing through social media, his blocking.
Kyle Monangai is the talk of the Bears' draft class
“Kyle embraces that physicality and trust me,” Coach Shaw said. “I’ve sat back and watched those highlights that’s been circling around more than I would like to admit. But it is definitely refreshing when you watch it, right? But I think it starts with his preparation. The foundation of it all is his preparation, right? If you look at him pick up pass protection, pick up pressures on the drop back passes, he knows who’s blitzing before the ball is snapped.”
“It’s incredible, right? And I can tell you that’s probably about 10 or 15 more blocks that are highlight-worthy blocks that didn’t even make the tape. But one of the things, though, is just, like I said, his smarts, he’s a student of the game.”
“We’re playing against Michigan State, I think it was week 12 of the season this year. And he’s up there, they bring this exotic third-down pressure, and he’s up there changing the protections, so he’s a student of the game. I think what (Bears running backs) Coach (Eric) Bieniemy and the rest of the staff is going to appreciate is his ability to communicate, to verbalize what’s happening out there and to be able to make adjustments on the fly in live action.”
Make sure you check out the full interview for everything Coach Shaw had to say about Monangai on her latest Making Monsters in the embed here or anywhere you get your podcasts.
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