Getty Bears rookie defensive end Austin Booker.
The latest episode of HBO’s “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Chicago Bears” revealed plenty of new insights into the team, from the front office’s trade pursuits of pass rusher Matthew Judon to rookie quarterback Caleb Williams’ poise in the face of adversity during their second preseason game.
One of the best lines of August 20’s third episode, though, came from general manager Ryan Poles in the moments after the team drafted fifth-round rookie Austin Booker.
“Hard Knocks” brought fans behind the scenes into the Bears’ war room on the third day of the 2024 NFL draft, giving them a look at how the team worked the phones in an attempt to find a trade partner that would allow them to get back into the fifth round.
The Bears had just four total selections and none beyond the fourth round coming into the draft, but Poles made it a priority to trade back into the fifth round so that the team could land Booker — a raw pass rusher out of Kansas with a seemingly high skill ceiling.
Eventually, the Bears agreed to trade their 2025 fourth-round pick to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for the No. 144 overall pick in the fifth round — which originally belonged to them — and then used it to select Booker and round out their five-man draft class.
After some applause from the room, Poles turned to Bears head coach Matt Eberflus and team president Kevin Warren and made his confidence in Booker abundantly clear.
“In a year, he’ll be a guy,” Poles told them in the episode.
Austin Booker Has Shined in 2024 Preseason Action
Booker had intrigue and upside coming into the 2024 draft. The 21-year-old had a monster season for the Jayhawks in 2023 with eight sacks, 12 tackles for loss, 56 total tackles and two forced fumbles, but scouts had trouble reaching a consensus on where he might get drafted considering it had only been his first season as a true disruptor.
Some, such as NFL.com’s Chad Reuter, believed Booker could come off the board as early as the second round. Others thought he made more sense as a Day 3 pick. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah even said he thought Booker could have been a late first-round pick in 2025 if he had elected to go back to school and refine his raw talents.
In the end, the Bears took a chance on Booker’s high upside — and they have already begun to see in the preseason how that might pay off for them during the 2024 season.
Booker has been one of the Bears’ top preseason standouts over the first three games. His eye-opening performance came in their second exhibition game against the Bills, in which Booker recorded 2.5 sacks, three quarterback hits, five pressures and five tackles. According to Pro Football Focus, he rates fourth-best among rookie edge rushers who have played at least 30 defensive snaps in the preseason with one game left to go.
Whether Booker claims a Day 1 starting role for the Bears defense remains to be seen, but his early promise suggests Chicago may have landed a steal in the fifth round.
Austin Booker Believes He is a ‘Sleeper’ in 2024
The Bears will find ways to get Booker into the mix during the regular season. Eberflus favors frequent rotations for his defensive linemen, so even if DeMarcus Walker starts opposite Montez Sweat, Booker should still get opportunities to show what he can do.
Booker also likes the prospect of getting to work opposite more experienced and well-known veterans like Sweat and Walker, who should command more attention from opposing offenses for as long as Booker flies under the radar as a fifth-round rookie.
“It’s just going to open it up because I’m a sleeper,” Booker said on July 29. “Not many people know about me, so having the slide go to them, I get a one-on-one on my side so just being able to take advantage of that 1-on-1 and get free will be big this year.”
