The Chicago Bears only had five picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, but it helps your overall class when two of those picks are Nos. 1 and 9 overall. With those two selections, the Bears dramatically reshaped their offense by selecting quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze. However, their last pick of the weekend in the fifth round might be the most intriguing. That’s because former Kansas defensive end Austin Booker is the 2024 Bears rookie sleeper to watch.
Why DE Austin Booker is the 2024 Bears' rookie sleeper
The story of the 2024 Bears draft will come down to how Williams and Odunze turn out. Their success or failure will dictate the franchises’ next decade. That said, football is a team sport where both sides of the ball matter, and the Bears are an organization historically built on defense.
The 2024 Bears defense is a work in progress with some solid building blocks.
General manager Ryan Poles traded for defensive end Montez Sweat last trade deadline and the team gave him a big contract extension afterward. Recent veteran acquisitions like linebacker Tremiane Edmunds and safety Kevin Byard along with promising youngsters like cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and LB Jack Sanborn are all pieces to build around.
One of the 2024 Bears' most specific roster holes is the DE opposite Sweat. Right now, veteran journeyman DeMarcus Walker is the second starter. The 2017 second-round pick has 25 career starts in seven seasons and 23.0 sacks. His best sack year was 2022 with the Tennessee Titans when he put up 7.0 QB takedowns.
After Walker, Chicago has pass rushers like Khalid Kareem, Dominique Robinson, and Jacob Martin. Combined these players have 12 years (147 games) of NFL experience with just 23 starts and only 21.0 sacks.
Enter former Kansas Jayhawks DE Austin Booker, who is an ultimate NFL Draft lottery ticket.
Booker is a physical specimen at 6-foot-4 ½ and 240 pounds with long 33 7/8-inch arms. He looks extremely athletic on tape, although he didn’t perform all that well at the combine. And he has a shocking array of pass-rush moves for a player with his experience.
That last word, experience, is the problem. Despite all his skills and gifts, Booker didn’t play all that much in college at Minnesota or Kansas. And while those are Big Ten and Big 12 schools, they are not exactly Michigan or Texas.
Austin Booker played a grand total of 505 snaps in his college career which is about as small a number as you’ll see from a player who gets drafted. He redshirted his first year for the Golden Gophers, barely played in Year 2, and finally broke onto the scene with an excellent 2023 season for the Jayhawks.
Last season Booker had 8.0 sacks, 12.0 tackles for a loss, 56 tackles, and two forced fumbles.
That is the type of production the Bears hope to get out of the pass rusher at the next level given coaching and time to develop. All the tools are there, now it’s up to Chicago to help Booker put it all together and be the player that many think he can be.
If this happens and Booker does become the 2024 Bears rookie sleeper who makes an impact, the team’s defense may return to its historically dominant form, and with an offense that could finally match, the team could be set up for success for years to come.
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