Analyze Kyle Monangai's matchup for week 7
Monangai’s snap share is climbing (28-30%), he’s elite at breaking tackles (35.3% rate) and faces a Saints D allowing 4.2 YPC, but he’s still behind D’Andre Swift, so he’s a stash—not a start—this week.
The Saints’ run defense ranks 18th in YPG (109.5) and has surrendered 4 rushing TDs while missing tackles at a high clip—ideal for Monangai’s 82.4% positive-run, contact-heavy style. Expect 6–9 touches and a chance for a chunk gain if the game script stays positive, yet Swift’s workhorse role caps the rookie’s ceiling.
Snap share jumped from 13% in Week 1 to 41% in Week 2 and has stabilized around 30%; 66% of his yards come after contact and he’s yet to fumble or drop a catchable ball.
Kyle Monangai’s rookie profile is the classic late-round lottery ticket that’s beginning to pay dividends. A seventh-round pick from Rutgers, he has turned only 17 carries and 5 targets into a highlight reel of broken tackles and forward falls, posting a 35.3% missed-tackle forced rate that would rank among the league’s top 10 backs if qualified. More importantly, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has steadily increased his usage every week, moving him from special-teamer to clear RB2 who spells D’Andre Swift on early downs and occasional pass sets. The Bears’ inside-zone scheme fits Monangai’s low-center-of-gravity, one-cut style, and his 82.4% positive-run rate shows he almost never loses yardage—an underrated trait that keeps the offense ahead of the chains and coaches happy.
New Orleans, meanwhile, arrives at Soldier Field with a front seven that has struggled to set the edge and tackle reliably. The Saints allow 4.2 yards per carry, have given up four rushing scores, and just watched Zack Moss and Chase Brown combine for 140 yards on 24 carries last week. Their linebackers are averaging 3.4 missed tackles per game, and safety Tyrann Mathieu has been forced into run-fill duty, opening cut-back lanes. Monangai’s contact balance and willingness to finish runs through weak shoulder tackles play directly into those deficiencies. If Chicago builds a second-half lead—as 4.5-point home favorites suggest—fresh legs could turn a 6-carry day into 45-55 yards and a goal-line look, the exact scenario that flashed in Week 2 when he punched in a two-point conversion.
Fantasy managers, however, need to keep expectations in check. Swift is still commanding 70% of the backfield snaps and all red-zone work inside the 5; until game script or injury alters that hierarchy, Monangai is a contingent-play stash. In dynasty or 14-team redraft leagues he’s a must-hold because one Swift ankle twist would vault the rookie into 15-touch, low-end-RB2 territory with a schedule that still features bottom-10 run defenses in Weeks 9, 11 and 13. For Week 7, leave him on your bench, root for a few loud carries, and prepare to pounce if the usage keeps creeping upward.