The Chicago Bears have been one of the most difficult teams to figure out through five weeks of the 2020 season. They currently sit at 4-1, just 0.5 games behind the undefeated Green Bay Packers for the NFC North lead.

Despite that impressive record, there’s been discussions among media members about whether head coach Matt Nagy’s team is a legitimate playoff contender, and understandably so. After all, Chicago needed a pair of miraculous fourth quarter comebacks to notch wins against two woeful teams in Detroit and Atlanta.

The team also barely squeaked by the likes of the Giants and Buccaneers, winning by a combined five points in those games.

With that being said, if you asked Nagy or his players about their supposed fraudulent record, they would probably scoff at the question. Much like Green Bay did in 2019, the Bears have been winning ugly up until this point in the campaign. As disconcerting as that sounds on paper, fans in the Windy City shouldn’t bat an eyelash looking at Chicago’s record.

Let’s not forget that the Packers were far from perfect last year and they finished with a 13-3 record in the regular season before ultimately falling one win shy of making the Super Bowl.

We’re not so sure that the Bears have a similar ceiling, but their hot start has them in pole position to clinch a playoff berth in a loaded NFC. As we know, however, nothing in the NFL is ever guaranteed, so general manager Ryan Pace should no doubt be looking to bolster Chicago’s roster prior to the trade deadline. Considering the number of teams that are evidently tanking for a high draft pick, the market could prove to be buyer friendly when all is said and done.

With that in mind, let’s highlight some players who Pace should target.

Dalvin Tomlinson, Defensive Tackle, Giants

With Daniel Jones struggling to cut down on turnovers — he has five interceptions and four fumbles so far — it’s looking increasingly likely that the New York Giants will at least be in the running to draft Clemson superstar Trevor Lawrence, who is considered to be the best quarterback in a generation, next April.

Even if that isn’t the case, it’s abundantly clear that New York will finish with one of the worst records in the NFL. That means GM Dave Gettleman should be willing to listen to offers on every player who could help him recoup some draft capital. Expediting this prolonged rebuild process has to be the top priority and stockpiling draft picks is a surefire way to do just that.

The Bears enter the equation due to the fact that they could use another interior defensive lineman. Underrated defensive tackle Eddie Goldman opted out prior to the 2020 season due to concerns about COVID-19, and Chicago’s normally elite defensive line has expectedly suffered the consequences.

That’s precisely why they should target Giants defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, who’s enjoyed a spectacular start to the campaign, earning an elite 73.0 grade from Pro Football Focus while playing 63% of the defensive snaps.

Adding Tomlinson would only create more real estate for the likes of Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks to wreak havoc, so the Bears should be more than willing to unload a mid or late-round draft pick for him. What’s even more appealing for Chicago? Tomlinson’s contract is set to expire after the season, so he really only has to be used as a rental for the rest of the year.

Alex Mack, Center, Falcons

We’ll never understand how the Atlanta Falcons continue to fall short of expectations despite their palpable talent. This season, however, they have stooped to an entirely different level of dismal, firing their head coach and general manager after falling to 0-5 against the underdog Panthers last Sunday.

How bad are things in Atlanta? Well, let’s just say that there is growing speculation that the organization could move on from longtime quarterback (and former MVP) Matt Ryan in the offseason. That suggests a full-blown rebuild is imminent, and they could get off to a nice start in that regard by selling some expendable veterans.

In our eyes, stalwart center Alex Mack fills that bill. The 34-year-old has been a valiant servant to the Falcons, making three Pro Bowls in four seasons, but he’s simply better served at moving to a contender at this point in his career.

Enter the Bears, who are desperate to find a replacement for budding young guard James Daniels, who is out for the season after suffering a pectoral muscle injury last Thursday night against Tampa Bay. It’s worth noting that Cody Whitehair is a center by trade, but he has experience at left guard and could make a seamless transition to that position if Mack was acquired.

With Mack on an expiring contract, trading for him shouldn’t cost the Bears more than a late-round draft pick. In the simplest of terms, he would provide instant stability to an offense line that just lost one of its most reliable components.

Kerryon Johnson, Running Back, Lions

With Tarik Cohen out for the year after suffering a torn ACL in Week 3, the Bears could really use a change-of-pace running back behind starter David Montgomery, who, despite continuing to break a ton of tackles, is managing just 3.9 yards per carry this season.

While we don’t doubt that Montgomery can handle a full workload, Chicago’s offense would be better off if it added a running back with a similar skillset to that of Cohen. Fortunately for GM Ryan Pace, he doesn’t have to look outside of the division to find a team with a crowded backfield as the Detroit Lions presently have a trio of RBs — D’Andre Swift, Adrian Peterson and Kerryon Johnson — splitting touches each week.

Prior to the 2020 Draft, we presumed that the latter was their RB of the future after he was selected in the second-round back in 2018. However, Johnson’s future in Detroit became incredibly murky after the former was nabbed in the second-round this past April.

With Johnson’s value at an all-time low — he’s tallied just 21 rushes for 71 yards (3.4 PC) through four games this campaign — the Bears should absolutely look to strike a deal for him. The Auburn product has seen both of his first two seasons cut short due to knee injuries and has since fallen down the pecking order at RB for Detroit.

In normal circumstances, we would advise teams against trading for a player with this sort of injury history, but neither of Johnson’s knee injuries fell under the serious category. Furthermore, the third-year pro is still just 23 years old and Chicago wouldn’t be trading for him to make him their workhorse in the backfield.

To top it all off, Johnson is under contract through the 2021 season, so the Bears can choose to cut him loose or flip him in another trade if he bolsters his value. Seriously, what does Pace have to lose here?

AJ Green, Wide Receiver, Bengals

Bengals wide receiver AJ Green grabbed headlines last weekend when sideline cameras appeared to catch him telling a teammate that Cincinnati should “just trade me.” After sitting out the entirety of 2019 with an ankle injury, the seven-time Pro Bowler is off to an impossibly slow start this season, compiling 14 receptions (on 34 targets) for 119 yards while failing to find the end zone. Those numbers equate to a lousy 41.2% catch percentage, which ranks 199th out of 200 qualified players, according to Pro Football Reference.

It’s clear that Green doesn’t fit into the Bengals’ long term plans, so they might as well look to cash in on him before he (presumably) tests free agency in March. We refuse to believe that 32-year-old has nothing left in the tank, and landing on a contender could be the spark he needs to remind fans that he’s still capable of playing at an elite level.

The Bears come to mind as a potential destination for Green because current No. 1 wideout Allen Robinson is simply asked to do too much. A-Rob is a bonafide stud in every sense of the word, but the best teams in today’s NFL generally have at least two (sometimes three) game-breaking receivers.

A wide receiving trio of Robinson, Green and Anthony Miller — plus tight end Jimmy Graham, who is playing the best he has in years — would give Chicago a cavalcade of of weapons for quarterback Nick Foles. The fact that the Bears can make that a reality for nothing more than a mid-round draft picks makes us question why they haven’t gotten Cincinnati on the phone yet.