The Chicago Bears are rounding a corner on a complete teardown and rebuild heading into the 2024-25 season. From the trades for Montez Sweat and Keenan Allen to the selections of Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze at the draft, the Bears are building something up after years of tearing their team down. One of the last parts of completing a rebuild to field a competitive squad may not need to be done via transaction as fans and pundits had previously thought.
In addition to the picks of Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze in this year’s draft, the Chicago Bears were able to select Austin Booker in the fifth round. Booker, a defensive end out of Kansas by way of Minnesota, has been raising eyebrows throughout camp and into the preseason. Conventional wisdom during the offseason was fairly unified in thinking that the Bears needed to add an end opposite Sweat to make the defense a legitimate threat this year after the pass rush struggled to make an impact last season.
Chicago Bears Rookie Defensive Standout
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Austin Booker was a flier in this spring’s NFL Draft. The 6’5 defensive end was a known dynamic player but left a lot of questions on the board for teams looking to select him in the draft. After the Chicago Bears used their fifth-round pick to take Booker, his qualities began to shine in camp. All reports had been that the rookie was giving plenty of trouble to the Bears’ starting offensive tackles Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright in practice.
At first, the panic amongst Bears fans was that the offensive line might be lagging behind the defense and not be as up to par as they need to be to protect the number one overall pick, Caleb Williams. The focus soon shifted to the exploits of the fifth-round pick when he received acclaim from another defensive edge rusher, Montez Sweat, who said of Booker, “Oh man I’m excited about him. He’s got the whole makeup, to the frame, to the pass rushing ability, he’s gonna be a great player. I just gotta be that big brother for him and be there when he has a question.”
Booker has apparently been getting close to Sweat in the locker room and throughout practice, saying, “I’m excited for the opportunity to play with him, learn from him, and just continue to get better next to him.” Having an established veteran to glean good habits and tendencies from should do wonders for the 21-year-old rookie, but it’s unclear as of yet if that learning process will happen in practice and the locker room exclusively.
Void At Pass Rusher?
With Yannick Ngakoue still unsigned, the void left at the pass rusher position opposite Sweat was thought to be a pressing need for the Chicago Bears defense. DeMarcus Walker, the former Titan, was slotted to fill that void but if Booker continues to delight coaches in practice and in the preseason, he could vault over the veteran Walker to take the pole position heading into the season. Booker’s outings in the preseason have been helping his case. Against Houston in the Hall of Fame Game, Booker was constantly pressuring the backfield, wreaking havoc and disrupting the rhythm of the Texans offense.
Booker followed it up in droves against the Buffalo Bills, making five tackles, two of which were for loss, getting 2.5 sacks and three quarterback hits. If training camp, practice, and the first preseason game weren’t enough to get fans talking, the Buffalo game certainly did the trick. The conversation has now shifted from the possibility of Booker overtaking Walker for the starting edge position to whether the Bears should even entertain bringing another rusher in to go ahead of Booker.
Yannick Ngakoue An Option?
After negotiations with the Miami Dolphins fizzled out, Yannick Ngakoue is still without a team, and there has been much speculation about a return to Chicago on a reduced salary. Ngakoue was a solid contributor to the Bear’s defense last year but didn’t meet the expectations that came with a player of his caliber or salary commitment. Austin Booker could provide an alternative to retaining Ngakoue or any other move Ryan Poles and the Bears front office may be considering.
The hope is that Austin Booker will be a threat for the Chicago Bears as a rookie this season. Through his standout play in camp and production in preseason action, all signs point towards the Bears having gotten a steal in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. Whether Booker follows through and delivers on the hype of the offseason will be answered soon enough, but as of now, his play has created and altered some conversations within the Chicago front office, and for the first time in a long time, the Bears are dealing with some good problems to have.
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