Even Bears Are Reportedly Shocked By Austin Booker's Rapid Ascent

The Chicago Bears knew what they wanted to do. As the 3rd round unfolded, GM Ryan Poles had a vision for how the draft might go. He wanted to land Yale tackle Kiran Amegadjie with their 3rd and hopefully still be able to get Iowa punter Tory Taylor in the 4th. Next came the hard part. If the board fell that way, his next goal was trading back into the draft (they had no picks left after the 4th) to acquire Kansas pass rusher Austin Booker. The team really loves his mix of size, length, athleticism, and instincts.

Thankfully, it played out exactly as hoped. Chicago negotiated a deal with Buffalo to trade back into the 5th round, securing Booker. Poles stated that the team loved his upside and motor. With enough time, he could become a viable member of their rotation. Apparently, they forgot to tell Booker that. The rookie has been a menace since training camp began, taking his biggest step yet by bulldozing the Bills last Saturday for 2.5 sacks and three QB hits. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports even the team is surprised by his progress, especially with how much power he has.

A buzz is growing in Halas Hall.

The Bears want to bulk up Booker some, but his strength has surprised them. You could see him get into the pads of Bills Pro Bowl left tackle Dion Dawkins early in this game. Combine strength with length and you have something at work here. Maybe the Bears can have their first homegrown edge rusher since Mark Anderson, who burst onto the scene in 2006 with 12 sacks and four forced fumbles as a fellow fifth-round pick.

“He’s very raw from that aspect for what he’s doing,” Smith said of Booker. “Inside hand, inside foot, hand above the eyes, create momentum and counter it. But those little detail things we’re working on every day. What do you love is for a lean guy that needs to put on mass, you still see some strength.

“You still saw in the (first) preseason game (against the Houston Texans), he put his hands on pads and ‘Boom!’ You can see that he can create momentum even though he’s not 275 pounds. What it is is his pad level, his length and he’s able to play with it. If he can utilize his speed with that, that is where the technique is able to take off. There is a long way to go, but we’re very excited with what we’re seeing so far.”

Austin Booker is a terrifying prospect.

There are three reasons for this. He's only 21 years old, quite young for the NFL. He is 240 lbs, which is light for a 4-3 defensive end. It is reasonable to assume he will pack on 10-15 lbs within the next year, most of it muscle mass. Last but not least, he only started one year in college. For him to look this far along is a testament to his natural instincts as a rusher. What happens when he starts gaining actual experience? No wonder there is internal excitement. This is the caterpillar before he becomes a butterfly situation.

One thing is clear. Austin Booker is likely the main reason the Bears have stayed their hand on the edge rusher market. Calls were loud for them to add another veteran body to the mix well before camp started. However, they wanted to see what they had in the younger guys before doing anything rash. Booker's ascent, along with the unexpected revival of Dominique Robinson, likely leads them to prefer to keep it in-house. At least for now. There is time before moves have to be made.

The path to the starting job is wide open for Booker.