Chicago Bears: Austin Booker Could Be Steal Of 2024 NFL Draft

Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles made a trade in the 2024 NFL Draft and acquired Austin Booker, who may be the steal of the draft.

In the 2024 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears became the media darling. General Manager Ryan Poles used his two top-ten picks on quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze. Williams is considered a generational talent and Odunze was one of the three elite receivers in the draft.

Poles added another offensive piece by drafting offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie to help protect Williams. Later, in the fourth round, he went away from offense and drafted punter Tory Taylor. Should the Chicago Bears’ offense sputter at times, Taylor could use his booming leg to flip field position.

With only four picks in the draft, everyone thought the Bears were finished with the draft. Poles had a different idea, however. He traded a 2025 fourth-round pick to get into the fifth round and use one more pick.

That pick was defensive end Austin Booker out of Kansas. With all of the hoopla over Williams and Odunze, the biggest steal of the weekend could end up being Booker.

Booker is a project. He played just 18 career games in college ball. Of those, he had only one start. In total, he had 505 total snaps. Many scouts originally projected him as a third-round pick. When the time came, though, teams were scared away by his lack of experience.

Booker was redshirted in 2021 with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The next season, he played in just 6 games, recording 2 tackles, one for loss. He entered the transfer portal and ended up in Kansas in 2023.

Booker looked incredible with the Jayhawks. He recorded 40 tackles, 12 for loss. Additionally, he had 8 sacks. He added a pass defense and 2 forced fumbles. He did that despite only having one start.

Poles, on the other hand, decided to take a flyer on Booker. He was surprised that Booker was still available so he made a move to bring him in.

The Bears had a need but Booker was a surprise pick

The Chicago Bears needed a defensive end. Many thought Poles could use the ninth overall pick on an edge rusher or trade it to acquire more picks so he could use a later pick on one. Poles made a deal, but it was later in the draft.

When looking at Booker on tape, he looks nothing like a guy who has little experience. He is explosive off the snap and has the athleticism to quickly get into the backfield. Also, he has a variety of moves that help him get past blockers. Players with as little experience as Booker has don’t have the number of moves he shows.

Because Booker is a project, the Chicago Bears still have a need at defensive end. However, Poles could sign a veteran to complement the big pickup via trade last season, Montez Sweat. We saw how Sweat transformed the Chicago Bears’ pass rush. He put pressure on the quarterbacks and opened up space for his teammates.

However, without another defensive end protecting Sweat, opponents could send a wave of blockers at him, slowing his path to the quarterback. The Green Bay Packers did that in the regular season finale in 2023. Sweat couldn’t reach quarterback Jordan Love and Love carved the Chicago Bears secondary.

The Chicago Bears could bring back a familiar face

Poles could re-sign Yannick Ngakoue. Ngakoue struggled last season, recording just four tackles. He had just two sacks and four quarterback hits in the eight weeks he played without Sweat. In the five weeks after Sweat arrived, he recorded two sacks and three quarterback hits.

Then Ngakoue fractured his ankle and missed the final four games of the season. There is no telling if he would have continued to play better alongside Sweat. If he shows that he is over his ankle injury the Chicago Bears could bring him back for a season while Booker continues to improve.

Having Sweat and Ngakoue as mentors could be important in the development of Booker. Those two are talented players with the experience to help the youngster. Booker could play in a rotation this season while learning from the pair of starters. Then he could be ready to step in and start in 2025.

Ngakoue is 30 years old. Booker is the future of the team. Ngakoue could use this season to show he could be back to form and audition for another team. He understands the Chicago Bears’ defensive system so he wouldn’t need to learn a new system.

If Ngakoue could also help Booker, that would make him even more attractive to other teams. They’d know that they could pick up a team-first player. Sweat would have someone who could protect him and make teams pay if they paid too much attention to him. The Chicago Bears would have Booker ready to start without Ngakoue. This is a win-win for the team and Ngakoue.

If this works out, the Chicago Bears could end up with Booker becoming the third player to become a star in this class. Throw in the other two who could also become stars and this could be one of the best drafts in franchise history.