The Chicago Bears have been sidestepping constant questions about their edge rusher position for months. GM Ryan Poles stated at the start of training camp that the team feels good about where things are at the moment. They want to see where things stand in practice. Rather than bringing in an established vet, they’d rather give valuable reps to younger guys to see how they do. One they’ve been excited about since he arrived in April is 5th round pick Austin Booker.
Poles has only traded up in the draft twice during his three years in charge. The first time was for Tyrique Stevenson, who had four interceptions as a rookie. The other was jumping back into the 5th round this year for the Kansas standout. Chicago felt Booker had the size, length, athleticism, and mentality they wanted for the defensive front. While inexperienced with only one season as a starter, he had the building blocks necessary to become a serious part of their rotation. According to Alex Shapiro of NBC Sports Chicago, the rookie isn’t wasting any time in practices.
“In the early days of camp, both Jacob Martin and Austin Booker have flashed repeatedly as they bear down on quarterbacks from the edge.
Before we get too far, it needs to be noted that the Bears haven’t put on the pads yet. That gives pass rushers an advantage in team drills since offensive linemen don’t have much to work with in pass pro. Without pads, there’s not a ton of space for o-linemen to engage d-linemen with their hands, so the pass rushers should be winning more often than not. If they weren’t it would probably be a bigger story.
But the pass rushers are winning with more than just power or hand techniques. Both Martin and Booker have run past their would-be blockers with speed, and that would probably look the same even if the team was in pads.”
It isn’t hard to see why. He spent two years wallowing on the bench in Minnesota, knowing he deserved more opportunities than he got. It is why he transferred to Kansas last year, where he promptly stacked up eight sacks and 12 tackles for a loss. Then, the NFL snubbed him as well. Many felt he was worthy of going in the 3rd round. Instead, the Bears got him in the 5th. Constantly being doubted does one of two things to an athlete. It breaks their confidence and they’re never the same, or it serves as fuel for their success.
At first glance, Austin Booker seems to fall in the latter category. Everybody kept calling him a work-in-progress. He’s a talented kid who might be a good player in two or three years. That doesn’t seem to make him happy. Bears coaches can see his hard work and non-stop motor in every practice. Pads or no pads, it doesn’t matter. He is coming at 100 mph. Such a mindset will serve him well as the coming months unfold. The talent is there. Finding the right mentality was always the biggest hurdle.
