Is Austin Booker poised to have a breakout season with Bears in 2025?

There are 94 days remaining before the Chicago Bears kickoff their 2025 season. Or, in other words, we are Austin Booker days away from watching the Bears welcome the Minnesota Vikings to Soldier Field on Monday Night Football for what could be one of the most consequential games of the year.

Speaking of Booker, Bears fans are hoping that the second-year player is on the cusp of a breakout season, especially when the defensive line did not see much in the way of reinforcements either through free agency or the 2025 NFL Draft. The Bears still need a solid DE2 to pair up with Montez Sweat, or else the defense could be in for another long year.

Is Booker going to be that guy?

Booker was always going to be a work-in-progress

No, Booker's rookie season did not inspire much confidence in his future when you look at the stats: 1.5 sacks, no forced fumbles, and a middling 52.5 grade from Pro Football Focus. But Booker did not play all that much as a rookie, limiting his opportunities to impact the game.

But most importantly, Booker was never supposed to be an impact player right away. Even before the draft, almost every draft analyst looked at Booker as a developmental prospect. The kind of player who would need time to get bigger, stronger, and more experienced before he could potentially hit his peak.

Exactly how much time that would take was left up to interpretation. Some players only need a few games or a rookie season before standing out. Others need a couple of years. Is Booker part of that first group? If he is, then we may be way too low on the Bears for 2025.

A dominant pass rush anchored on the edges by Sweat and Booker, along with the pocket-pushing presence of Andrew Billings and Gervon Dexter, would be more than a match for just about every offensive line outside of Philadelphia. It would likely be the best defense Chicago has seen since 2018 and would give the offense, and Caleb Williams in particular, a much bigger margin for error.

A dominant defense is one of the best friends a young quarterback can have. Let's hope for Williams' sake that Austin Booker will help Chicago's defense reach those heights.