Late-Round Gems? Newman and Monangai embrace development with Bears

Tony Crumpton - Senior Editor - 8 hours ago

CHICAGO - Revamping the offensive line was new head coach Ben Johnson’s top priority when he came to Chicago. Not only did he accomplish this through multiple trades and free agent signings, but the Bears also drafted two offensive linemen with versatility.

Offensive lineman Luke Newman was Chicago’s sixth-round draft pick out of Michigan State. He was one of four players the Bears drafted from a Big 10 school.

Newman can play any of the positions along the interior offensive line, but is focusing primarily on left guard for now.

“Majority focus has been at left guard. But, obviously, that versatility was a huge reason why I was drafted, why I’m here and I look forward to working the other sports, right guard and center as well,” Newman said. “I think working the interior three will be my main focus going forward. Have the tackle background, but obviously working the interior three is going to be a major focus and we’ll just work more of the others as the summer and spring go along.”

Joe Thuney is one of the best left guards in the NFL, making him a valuable person for a rookie like Newman to be able to learn from.

The Bears also traded for guard Jonah Jackson and signed center Drew Dalman; Newman will have the opportunity to learn from them as well.

“I want to see what those guys do for their bodies, their recovery,” Newman said. “I want to see what they do nutrition-wise, like what’s right for them, how much time, what they’re studying in the film room, what exactly they’re looking at and what they’re keying in on and I just really want to learn how they handle themselves really more off the field than on and obviously, I know they have great work ethics being in the league for this long. So, I’m excited to see how that all goes.”

One interesting aspect about drafting four players from the same conference is that most likely, they have gotten the chance to play against each other. That is certainly the case with Newman and Chicago’s seventh-round pick, running back Kyle Monangai out of Rutgers. In Monangai’s final game of his collegiate career, he faced the Spartans and put up 129 rushing yards and a touchdown in Rutgers’ 41-14 win over Michigan State.

Monangai’s performance against Michigan State was not an outlier. He finished his collegiate career with 3,222 rushing yards and 27 rushing touchdowns. In total over his five seasons with Rutgers, Monangai averaged 4.8 yards per carry. Each of his last two seasons, he has rushed for over 1,200 yards. With numbers like these, it is surprising he ended up falling all the way to the seventh round.

Now, he is focused on proving he belongs in the NFL and, starting with rookie minicamp, is focusing on fine-tuning his abilities and perfecting the little details to make his running game elite at the next level.

“Everyone’s talented. Everyone’s got certain things that are necessary to be a football player. It’s the little details that makes the great guys great, that allows them to see the results they see,” Monangai said. “So, I got to figure out what those things are for me. I got a little idea, but now that I’m here, I get to fine-tune those things and figure it out and then apply it to my game.”

Getting to learn from a running backs coach like Eric Bieniemy will certainly benefit Monangai and the rest of the running back room.

That is greatly needed, especially given that Chicago had one of the worst rushing offenses in the league last season and did not have a 1,000-yard rusher for the second straight season.

“He’s a legend number one, to be begin with. Just knowing (Bieniemy’s) history, the people he’s coached, the teams he’s been a part of,” Monangai said. “He’s really insightful, great coach, gets me ready for practice everyday and I’m excited for the future of what he’s going to be able to teach me and being able to work with him.”