A breakout star of the 2023 season, what does Rutgers running back Kyle Monangai bring to the table with his 2025 NFL Draft scouting report? Rutgers has a strong recent track record at RB, and Monangai is due to keep the conveyor belt churning.
Kyle Monangai’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 5’9″
- Weight: 210 pounds
- Position: Running Back
- School: Rutgers
- Current Year: Redshirt Senior
Some running backs break out right away at the collegiate level. Monangai, however, had to wait his turn, and then it took time for him to truly find his stride.
Hailing from Roseland, New Jersey, Monangai played high school ball at Don Bosco Prep, and he signed with the Scarlet Knights as a three-star recruit. In 2020, he played primarily as a special teamer but proved valuable on kickoff coverage.
A year later, Monangai received more snaps as a rotational runner behind eventual NFL stalwart Isiah Pacheco. He ran for 236 yards and four touchdowns on 62 carries — a performance that would be a precursor for his first year as a full-time starter in 2022.
That 2022 campaign was Monangai’s introduction to the volume role, but in 2023, he took things a step further, shattering all of his career highs. He rumbled for 1,262 yards and eight touchdowns on 242 carries and also caught eight passes for 78 yards, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors.
In 2024, Monangai will be back for his fifth year, and he’ll aim to end his career on a high note while answering more questions for NFL evaluators.
Monangai’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Sports a low-to-the-ground, well-leveraged frame with great compact mass and density.
- Has great explosive capacity on the vertical plane and can surge through narrow gaps.
- Boasts powerful lateral explosiveness and energized short-area twitch when redirecting.
- Possesses lower body energy, agility, and fluidity to make defenders miss with cuts.
- Has shown to press laterally to bait defenders into oversetting, then capitalize.
- Has the vision and anticipatory skills to control gaps and get skinny through lanes.
- Isn’t scared off by congested interiors and can flow upfield through fleeting creases.
- Has the creative instincts to reposition himself with stutter steps while pressing upfield.
- Recognizes contact threats and can bend around tacklers while searing into space.
- Runs with terse, untethered energy and physicality, which precipitates into his motion.
- Brings near-elite contact balance with his energetic leg churn and low center of gravity.
- Flashes impressive route-running nuance and bend on swings and delayed out routes.
- Hyper-combative pass blocker who always goes on the attack and maximizes leverage.
- Combines steady technique with unhinged aggression as a blocker and can lead block.
Weaknesses
- Explosive capacity, while very good, visibly falls short of the elite mark.
- Despite compact mass and density, doesn’t have elite size or force output at contact.
- Occasionally runs too far upright with pads into gaps, allowing tacklers into his frame.
- With a short-strider mold, vertical range can be limited against defenders on the chase.
- Maxes out relatively quickly in space and visibly lacks the pace to break away.
- At times lacks the long-track explosive capacity to clear to the boundary on zone runs.
- Doesn’t have elite stop-and-start ability or hip flexibility, at times needing gather steps.
- Has amassed very little volume as a receiving threat through three seasons of play.
- Short arms greatly reduce his wingspan and playmaking radius as a pass catcher.
- Might be a slightly older NFL rookie as a fifth-year senior.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Entering the 2025 NFL Draft cycle, Monangai grades out as a top-75 prospect, who could feasibly command early-round capital. In a deep RB class, he carves out his place as a uniquely energized and physical back, with exciting three-down security.
Monangai needed a year to calibrate after taking the reins full-time following Pacheco’s departure. But in 2023, the veteran back reached new heights and compiled impressive tape week in and week out — now he might follow in Pacheco’s footsteps as a future NFL starter.
Monangai isn’t quite as fast or explosive as Pacheco, nor is he quite as heavy. But Monangai is extremely dense and well-leveraged, and he brings urgent short-area motion and a relentless mentality. He maximizes that short-area quickness with sharp vision and a creative feel.
Monangai has never eclipsed 10 catches in a single season, so his receiving value is relatively unproven at this point. But there are flashes of high-level route-running nuance, and he might be the best pass-blocking RB in the class with his awareness, technical prowess, and physicality.
Though Monangai’s ceiling might be a bit lower than some of the top running backs in the class, he still profiles as a solid NFL starter with a particular affinity for inside zone, gap, duo, and counter scheme. He also has pass-down security with additional receiving upside.