Chicago Bears Training Camp 2024: Austin Booker quietly had a great debut

While the offense grabbed attention in the Chicago Bears’ Hall of Fame game, it was defensive end Austin Booker who showed that he could make an impact this season.

Chicago Bears football is here! The Bears took on the Houston Texans (who they will see in about another month and a half) in the Hall of Fame game and came away with a storm-shortened victory 21-17. It was great to finally see NFL football, even if it was without the starters. 

There were some surprises in the game. Brett Rypien and Collin Johnson both had incredible games. They shined brightly. The offense in general moved the ball well after a slow start. If the reserves played that well, we imagine the starters would be even better.

There was also the battle to the the main backup running back. Khalil Herbert had 35 yards on four carries. He showed his burst and ability to make big runs. Roschon Johnson, who hopes to replace Herbert, had 24 yards on 6 carries. He made some hard runs in traffic and showed how he could power his way through the line.

However, the biggest news from the game should have been how defensive end Austin Booker played. He was the Chicago Bears’ fifth-round pick. General Manager Ryan Poles used a 2025 fourth-round pick to re-enter the draft and select Booker. Despite being very inexperienced, Booker was impressive in college.

Booker was impressive in his professional debut as well.

The Chicago Bears have a situation at defensive end. They need an edge rusher to complement Montez Sweat. Many feel that he has to go out and find one of the available free-agent edge rushers. One of them is Yannick Ngakoue, who was with the team last season. He has already started to visit teams, though.

Poles has said recently that he is happy with what he has. He wants to see how the situation works out before deciding on making a move. That is a dangerous game since some of the best available players could be gone. Poles has had fortune with him as he rebuilds the roster. This could be another stroke of fortune for him. 

I don’t really see it as a defensive end problem. Our mindset’s always, how can we make a position group the best we can possibly make it and as deep as we possibly can make it. So it’s, like I said, just really leaning on Travis and Eric to continue to develop the players that we have in and see…how they do. We saw some really encouraging things during OTAs. But we all know this game is played in full pads, so we want to see that process through.

Poles has DeMarcus Walker, Dominique Robinson, and Jacob Robinson in addition to Austin Booker. He could feel that having a rotation of players could help. Additionally, defensive tackle Gervon Dexter has been a beast in practices so far. If that continues and he has a breakout season, that is additional pressure on quarterbacks.

Well, Booker might have given Poles more reason to like what he has and stay put on the edge rusher. He could try to fortify another position (offensive/defensive line?). Booker quietly had a great debut, even if it was against reserves.

Throughout practices, Booker has shown that he needs more reps against the starters. During OTAs, veteran minicamp, and training camp, he dominated the reserves. At times he looks nothing like a player who only had 580 total snaps in college.

Now he showed it in an actual game. When you look at his stat sheet you only see one tackle and nothing else. However, he was consistently in the Texans’ backfield, creating havoc. He pressured the quarterback a lot. He forced a fumble, and his pressure was responsible for the Chicago Bears’ only sack of the game.

Booker showed why Poles was enamored with his play. He showed a variety of rush moves. An inexperienced pass rusher who is a supposed “project” should not look so polished as a pass rusher.

Is Austin Booker a finished project? Of course not. Again, he does not have a lot of snaps under his belt. So far, he is vulnerable on run plays and he needs to develop a bull rush. Those are things that could be solved with experience and strength training. He has room on his 6-foot-4.5 frame. His weight is currently at 240 pounds so he can add up to 20 pounds to help him.

Here is a video showing Booker’s performance. While a lot of people might have missed it, Booker likely made Poles and the Chicago Bears coaching staff very happy. He was a stud on the defensive side.

It will be interesting to see how much more we see of Austin Booker. He is showing every day that he feasts on reserve players. He needs to start seeing snaps with some starters to see how he responds. He has held his own against the starters in practice. Now it is time to see him show his stuff against opponents. If he responds, Poles would have more fortune hit him.

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