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Should I pickup Kyle Monangai or Travis Homer as fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 9 of 2025? Read our fantasy football waiver wire outlooks.
With Chicago Bears starting running back D'Andre Swift (groin) officially ruled out for his team's Week 9 contest against the Cincinnati Bengals, Bears head coach Ben Johnson will turn to his backup running backs to handle the backfield work in the upcoming contest.
Additionally, third-string back Roschon Johnson (back) won't play due to a back injury. He's only handled two touches this season, anyway. Chicago's backfield depth has thinned out quite a bit in recent days.
This leaves RBs Kyle Monangai, the backup to Swift, and Travis Homer (calf) as the team's two healthy RBs. Homer was removed from the injury report after dealing with a calf issue. So which one should you pick up ahead of Week 9?
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Kyle Monangai Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlook
Monangai's rostership spiked after Swift was ruled out -- he was added more modestly after Swift recorded his second missed practice in a row as well. Now, he's been grabbed in 63 percent of leagues, and that number is climbing -- and with good reason.
He's the only healthy Bears RB to take a single offensive snap this year. He's the only one that's had any regular season experience, has executed offensive plays, and has pounded the rock. And he's had pretty solid volume the past few weeks.
INTERCEPTION @WigginNathaniel!!!!!
Tune in on CBS! pic.twitter.com/NmguNZ3o4w
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 26, 2025
It sucks because if Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was playing well, it's likely Monangai would have much higher upside. There have been multiple instances in which he was open on check-down routes out of the backfield or even the above potential touchdown pass.
Still, the Bears have an excellent offensive line, and Monangai will likely handle the vast majority of the touches, if not all of them. So he's a great player to pick up. The Bears will face arguably the worst rushing defense in the NFL in the Bengals.
Travis Homer Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlook
There's probably not a lot of reason to pick up Homer. He's the team's fourth-string RB, and will only get playing time because of the injuries to both Johnson and Swift. Homer is in his seventh season in the league, and logged zero carries and one target in 2022 after modest usage in his previous seasons.
Last year, he only logged nine touches, and he hasn't had any meaningful work in years. It's very valuable for teams to have at least two healthy running backs, though, because injuries can happen at any time, and it's easy for a player to get gassed and need to be spelled for a bit.
There is really nothing notable about Homer except that he'll have the RB2 job for one week and probably not many more, if at all.
Should I Pickup Kyle Monangai or Travis Homer For Fantasy Football?
Monangai is the pickup, easily. He's at least a high-end RB2 with upside for more, given the matchup. I wouldn't be surprised if he had two touchdowns, a handful of catches, and at least 100 yards rushing against such a poor defense.
Cincinnati has been stomped by running backs all season. Last week, they were obliterated on the ground by New York Jets running back Breece Hall, who scored 32.86 PPR fantasy points, though some of those came on a short touchdown pass. But his backup, Isaiah Davis, racked up 17.9 fantasy points.
That means Cincy gave up over 50 fantasy points to running backs last week. They have a way of hemorrhaging points to tailbacks -- in Week 7, RB Jaylen Warren took 16 carries for 127 yards against them, in Week 6, RB Josh Jacobs scored 32.0 PPR points in a game against them, and so on.
Bears RB Kyle Monangai pressing front side as long as possible to open up space on backside. Finishes run with violence. pic.twitter.com/NLCGEzIzZF
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) August 11, 2025
Monangai has shown that he can be productive in this scheme when called upon. He's not the fastest back, but has decent elusiveness and runs with power, and at least isn't blind in terms of vision. That's good enough to be a starter in all leagues, considering how difficult it is to find quality running back production.
So he's the player to pick up between these two.
Who Should I Pickup Tool
Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool here:
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Who Should I Pickup? Some common 2025 fantasy football waiver wire decisions are regarding players like Trey Benson, Kyle Monangai, Kareem Hunt, Woody Marks, Josh Downs, Darnell Mooney. But not to worry, we are here to help make these waiver wire decisions and build winning teams in 2025. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups in 2025. Our free Who Should I Pickup? tool will help make your fantasy football waiver wire decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to pick up... all free! Make the right decisions.
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Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
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