The Bears have entered their bye week in a good position. They’re 4-2 at this break point, following a three-game winning streak with victories over the Rams, Panthers and Jaguars.

If that list of opponents doesn’t inspire fear, you aren’t alone. The Bears have beat a bunch of bad teams to this point, but the schedule can’t be controlled. That’s why confidence in the team shouldn’t be diminished due to the teams they’ve played. They’re doing what they’re supposed to do against such competition – stacking wins.

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The Bears need to keep performing well to stand out in the NFC North, which is clearly the NFL’s deepest and best division. They’ve got two more intraconference games against Washington and Arizona before things get really tough, so the Bears must continue developing as a team to make it through the gauntlet that is their final eight games.

We’ve got some questions about that in our mailbag – you can join the conversation by submitting questions here — so let’s dive into areas of concern and improved confidence in this edition of Bair Mail:

Who is better? Swift or Montgomery? (Pete Garza from Facebook)

That’s a tough one, Pete, because the two running backs you mention have completely different styles.

Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery is a pile mover who can operate well in heavy traffic with physicality and power. Bears running back D’Andre Swift operates better in space, using his speed and elusiveness to create chunk yardage out of short passes and handoffs.

Both guys are productive in their own way, with Swift totaling 513 yards from scrimmage. Montgomery has 445, though he splits time with the electric Jahmyr Gibbs.

I would take Swift, personally, because I think he’s a better fit for this Bears offense under Shane Waldron.

We’ve seen Swift take off recently, with at least 108 yards of total offense and a score in the last three games. I think usage and the runs given to him by Waldron have gotten better. So has the run blocking in front of him. Proof of that comes from a stat unearthed by The Athletic Bears reporter Kevin Fishbain. In Weeks 1-3 Swift average .14 yards before contact per carry. In Weeks 4-6, he averaged 2.41 yards before contact per carry. That means he’s building momentum before being touched, with an opportunity to make people miss in his unique way.

Swift is off and running well now, and I think a lot of that has to do with the Bears understanding how to use him best.

Do you think the Bears will be active at the trade deadline? Maxx Crosby would look good in blue and orange. (Adam Bennett from Twitter)

I don’t know if the Bears will go big-game hunting heading towards the trade deadline. They were active trying to get Matthew Judon from the Patriots this offseason and ended up with Darrell Taylor, who has performed far better than a consolation prize.

Getting a pass rusher for the stretch run would be the only space I would splurge, and Maxx Crosby is an incredible player. I’ve covered him before and have seem him play lots of football. He’s the real deal.

The Bears also have an extra second-round pick in the 2025 draft – the Bryce Young trade is the gift that keeps on giving — that could be used to get a top-level talent to Chicago.

Absorbing a big contract, however, might not be as palatable considering they’re already paying heavy freight for Montez Sweat. The Bears are currently $6.4 million under the cap but have a massive amount of space in 2025, so there’s a possibility things could work out with adding a piece in trade.

Crosby is a tenacious player who works hard on all three downs. He’s an excellent run player and can get after the quarterback with frequency. If the Bears had him and Sweat working together, with Gervon Dexter on the inside, that defense would be really tough to beat.

I would consider it a long shot at this stage, though it’s certainly not impossible for Poles to go get a player like that. Raiders owner Mark Davis said a Crosby trade isn’t going to happen, but you never know how things play out close to the trade deadline.

Cole Kmet has been really good lately. How productive can he be working with a quarterback like Caleb Williams? (Kevin Orza from Twitter)

Bears tight end Cole Kmet has turned in some productive seasons in the past, most notably with 719 yards on 73 catches as Justin Fields’ safety net in 2023. Williams has used Kmet’s skill set up the seam or in the middle of the field in a more dynamic way, evident by a career-high 11.1 yards per reception to this point. He’s on pace for a career-high in receiving yards as well.

Even though Williams has plenty of attractive options in the pattern, there’s no reason why Kmet can’t be a 1,000-yard receiver working with Williams and this offensive scheme. He’s good enough as a blocker that it can’t be assumed he’s a solely receiving option. He’s also so tall that defensive backs have a tough time covering him. Linebackers, too, with his speed. If he’s winning matchups in coverage, the ball will continually find him.

On another note, Kmet won NFC special teams player of the week for stepping in as an emergency long snapper. Kmet gets just a few snaps per week in practice, but stepped in an performed well in that role against the Jaguars. How great of a story is that? Also, I’m glad the NFL doesn’t take itself so seriously that it would honor Kmet over a more conventional choice.

What letter grade would you assign the Bears on the season so far? (Ed Helinski from Twitter)

Interesting question, Ed, to ponder on the bye week. Overall, I’d probably give the Bears a B. Had they beat Indianapolis like they were supposed to, it would be higher. Chicago has had a crazy easy schedule to this point, with just the Texans as only legit contender that they’ve faced to this point.

Getting four wins out of this stretch was important. The most impressive development was this team’s ability to adapt and develop. Player leadership has done an excellent job telling coaches what they need to operate best, and the coaches have adjusted accordingly.

That Colts loss seemed to be a pivot point in the season that has the Bears humming right now in all three phases. That experience and the positivity that came from it seems to have galvanized this unit and brought it closer together, mixing talent and chemistry in a way that makes the Bears better. It will be interesting to see how they grade out with the competition ratchets up, starting with a Week 9 show down at Washington.

Join the conversation by submitting Bair Mail questions right here, for inclusion in the next Wednesday mailbag.