The draft is getting closer and the draft visits are ramping

Draft questions and more as the offseason continues to drag along."The 2019 NFL Draft is just 15 days away and while the Chicago Bears may not be slated to pick on the first night Bryce Callahan Jerseys 2019 , that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of draft questions. While the main focus is on running backs, the Bears still have five picks and will look to add more to their already deep roster.On top of that, news surfaced on Tuesday that the 49ers could be having issues coming to a long-term pact with kicker Robbie Gould, possibly leaving a slim chance that he returns to Chicago.We’ll address all of that and more in this week’s mailbag.I’m glad you asked.I actually put out a piece yesterday highlighting exactly who I think would be ideal and realistic fits for the Bears in this draft class. To keep it simple, here are my top five names.Miles Sanders (Penn State)Trayveon Williams (Texas A&M)Damien Harris (Alabama)Justice Hill (Oklahoma State)David Montgomery (Iowa State)In short, I feel like the Bears would have to trade up for Sanders or Montgomery. Sanders is the most ideal fit because of how well-rounded he is. Montgomery lacks explosion at the second level, but is also very well-rounded and is one of the more overlooked fits in this class.Williams, Harris and Hill are all likely to be around when the Bears pick and all make a lot of sense as well.It’s worth noting that the Bears have met multiple times with Sanders and Williams. Those meetings include top 30 visits and they’ve also worked out Sanders. All in all, the team has spent eight of their top 30 visits on running backs and met with 15 overall. It’s pretty clear they plan to not only draft one, but likely draft one somewhat early.Earlier Tuesday, it was reported by NBC Sports Bay Area that the 49ers were interested in kicker Stephen Gostkowski. Since that point, the Patriots re-signed him to a two-year, $8.5 million deal. Normally, I’d say that probably kills any chance at Gould being dealt White Bobby Massie Jerseys , but I’m not sure that’s quite the case yet. Here’s what we know:Gould was not happy with the tag because he wanted a long-term deal, so he could move his family wherever he landed.Gould has been very vocal about his love for the Bears and the city of Chicago.General manager John Lynch said at the scouting combine that the team & the kicker’s camp were far apart and talks had all but died.With all of that in mind, I’d say that it’s no guarantee that Gould will actually sign his tag or do it any time soon. My guess is that for the right price (no clue what that would be), Lynch would be open to dealing him. I would assume that would need to be before or during the draft, so he could find a suitable replacement.I’m not sure that Bears general manager Ryan Pace is going to abandon his current kicking competition, to trade a draft pick for a 36-year-old kicker. It would likely have to be for a low round pick and maybe even a 2020 pick but even then, you’re talking about trading a pick, screwing a few tryout players out of a real chance to make the roster and paying Gould around $4-4.5 million per year.I’d say that all in all, the chances of a Gould reunion remain low, unless the 49ers rescind their current franchise tag on him.Admittedly so, the deeper I dove into this 2019 running back class, the less impressed I was. I’m not going to say it’s a weak class, but I do think it’s a middle-heavy class, with a lot of questions in it.As head coach Matt Nagy talked about a few weeks back Bobby Massie Jerseys 2019 , it’s all about fit. Both for the team and these prospects. Not a lot of these prospects are good at everything and none of them (on paper) are elite talents. For me personally, I don’t have one first round grade, but I have 12 graded in the first four rounds and a total of 14 graded in rounds four through five.It’s going to be about how strong Pace’s and Nagy’s evaluations are of this class, especially when it comes to fit. The good news? They aren’t looking for a three-down back or a bell cow. That will help.Even so, I don’t think it would make much sense to bypass this class all together and wait for next year’s. You simply have to trust your evaluations if your Pace and not overdraft, even if that means not taking one until the fourth or fifth round.Also remember, even if they draft one in a few weeks, it doesn’t mean they can’t spend a higher pick on one next year if one of Mike Davis or their pending draft pick don’t work out.“It sounds to me like Rogers is making excuses about last year. Kind of odd he comes out with this story after all the stories about how huge egos destroyed the Packers. If he was that injured why continue to play especially after they were out of it? Sounds like excuses to me, what are your thoughts.” - Jerry Sternadel (via email)As most Bears fans are aware by now, Aaron Rodgers made headlines last week. Tyler Dunne wrote an excellent article detailing the fallout between the quarterback and his former head coach, Mike McCarthy.The premise of the piece was based on Rodgers’ reported ego and disdain for McCarthy. It’s excellent and I would suggest taking about 20 minutes out of your day to read it if you already haven’t.Since that point, Rodgers has come out and somewhat refuted most of the information in the article. The problem? The sources came from within the Packers’ organization whether it was scouts or former players (some of which attached their names to it). Also, when Rodgers spoke about it, he didn’t exactly deny a lot of the information. He simply discredit Dunne and the outspoken sources in former tight end Jermichael Finley and receiver Greg Jennings.Since then White Akiem Hicks Jerseys , he has also come out and said that he played last year on a broken leg and sprained knee. Both of which were sustained on Roy Robertson-Harris’ sack that came in their Week 1 matchup. Now, I’m not going to say Rodgers was making excuses because I don’t believe that he was. I felt for most of the year that whatever happened on that play that caused Rodgers to miss close to a quarter in the season opener, hampered him for most of the season.What I do think it brings in question is the quarterback’s overall durability. This was the second year in a row in which he had a serious injury. Yes, he played all 16 games, but the year before he missed the majority of the year with a broken collarbone. At 35-years-old, you have to wonder if his body is breaking down after years of abuse. What is even more interesting is that the team just extending him and they can’t really get out from underneath his contract until the 2022 off-season. If Rodgers continues to break down and can’t stay healthy, this perceived Packers new-found “window” could close before it even opens. I would also question how well a fit between a young offensive-minded head coach with no NFL head coaching experience and a strong-willed quarterback like Rodgers will work out.Only time will tell, but I’d say there are more questions now than there was when the offseason first started in regards to the Packers. Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy understands the temptation to compare, given the way his present and past quarterbacks are performing.Mitchell Trubisky and Patrick Mahomes were top 10 selections in the same class and the first two QBs drafted in 2017.But while Trubisky 鈥?the No. 2 overall pick that year 鈥?has turned in two shaky performances for Chicago this season, Mahomes has been lighting it up for Kansas City."Well, what's fair to compare is you have one, in Patrick, who has had a full year in this offense to understand it," Nagy said."Now Akiem Hicks Jerseys 2019 , regardless of playing in it, he's had a full year, more than a year to sit behind it and learn and understand and watch tape with those quarterbacks last year and get to see all the talk, all the discussions of where you go on this play and that play, whereas Mitchell hasn't had that. He's being forced into this thing right away, and so that's where these growing pains are going to occur."Nagy spoke Tuesday, a day after the Bears beat the Seattle Seahawks to give their coach his first career victory.Trubisky threw touchdown passes on Chicago's first possession and early in the fourth quarter, but got intercepted two times by Shaquill Griffin.The offense stalled for large portions of the game, and a defense led by Khalil Mack carried Chicago, sacking Russell Wilson six times.That allowed the Bears to leave Soldier Field with a good feeling after they blew a 20-point lead in a season-opening loss to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in Green Bay."I'm trying to get over just dwelling on plays too much," Trubisky said. "I think it's hurt me more than it's helped me."So getting over plays and just building on what I did good and forgetting about what I did bad and continuing to improve and get better and learn this offense and Coach keeps saying, it is going to be a process. We want immediate results, but finding ways to win is very important and we did that."But it sure would help if Trubisky started emerging as the franchise quarterback the Bears envisioned him becoming when they traded up a spot with San Francisco to draft him.The organization figured it would take time and was planning to have him mostly watch from the sideline last season with Mike Glennon starting.Of course, it didn't work out that way. Glennon struggled through four games before Trubisky replaced him as the starter.The Bears then spent much of the offseason building around him by hiring an offensive-minded head coach and giving him some new options 鈥?most notably signing former Pro Bowl receiver Allen Robinson away from Jacksonville. But through two games White Danny Trevathan Jerseys , Trubisky has plenty of room to improve.Trubisky has an 80.0 rating, with a pair of touchdown passes and as many interceptions. Compare that to Mahomes with a 143.3 rating and a league-leading 10 touchdowns with no interceptions.Or maybe don't compare.The fact that Mahomes has a year in the Chiefs' system and isn't learning a new offense again isn't the only difference. He also got what basically amounted to his redshirt year, sitting behind Alex Smith last season."It's easy to compare two people because they were drafted in the same draft, top 10, one ahead of the other," Nagy said. "So those comparisons are easy. But what's real behind that is what I just said. You have one guy that has had plenty of time now to learn it."In the opener against the Packers, Trubisky at times was quick to scramble and abandon plays rather than stay in the pocket. He also couldn't lead the Bears past midfield in the closing minutes when they needed to get into field-goal range.Trubisky thought he did a better job staying in the pocket on Monday night."O-line did a fantastic job all night giving me time when I needed it and just finding those receivers, but they got a good scheme on their side," he said.