Bears defender just played his way onto the starting lineup in preseason tie

Going into the 2024 NFL draft, Austin Booker was about as raw as a prospect could ever be, with just 505 defensive snaps in college. But his final collegiate season, when he had eight sacks and 12 tackles for loss, put him on the radar, and the Chicago Bears took him in the fifth round (No. 144)

Ideally, especially as a 10-game losing streak turned a 4-2 start into a 5-12 finish, Booker would have played more than he did as a rookie. However, a lame-duck coaching staff wasn't going to prioritize developing young players, and he played just 283 defensive snaps, recording 1.5 sacks.

Booker, of course, still has the traits that made him an interesting draft prospect (6-foot-4 and a 1/2, 33 and 7/8-inch arms), and he offered a better tease of what he could do during the 2024 preseason (2.5 sacks, four quarterback hits).

Dennis Allen coming aboard as the Bears' defensive coordinator will benefit a lot of players, and Booker is on that list.

Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic addressed a mailbag question about Booker before training camp started, and paved a path to a second-year breakout.

"Booker has the desired length for the position (6-4 1/2) and had a productive rookie preseason (2 1/2 sacks, four QB hits). He had only 1 1/2 sacks and four QB hits in the regular season, playing a quarter of the team’s snaps on a defense that fell off in the second half. When you talk about “second-year leaps,” he’s the type of player who is primed for one in a scheme that should highlight his traits."

"If he exits camp as the No. 3 defensive end, that would be a win for the organization. That’d be a reasonable expectation, too, considering the Bears traded away a pick to select Booker and don’t offer a ton of competition at the position."

Austin Booker made strong argument he should be a starter in preseason opener

With the Bears resting almost all of their projected defensive starters, the preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins looked like a nice opportunity for Booker. He was clearly someone to watch heading into the game, as highlighted by Larry Mayer of Bears.com.

"The 2024 fifth-round choice from Kansas is powered by a relentless motor and has made flash plays in training camp, especially rushing the passer. Beginning Sunday versus Miami, the 6-6, 245-pounder needs to show he can play with consistency and master details such as reading his keys, hand placement and maintaining outside leverage to contain running plays."

The Bears' defense came to play on Sunday, carrying what by all accounts has been a very physical training camp into a game. Booker was credited with three tackles for loss, showing strength as a run defender, but he also got after Miami's quarterbacks with a vengeance.

With less than five minutes to go in the first half, Booker got his first sack of the game.

On the other side of halftime, Booker made it two sacks on the day.

Late in the third quarter, Booker made it a hat trick with a strip-sack to create a turnover that set up a Bears' touchdown.

The context of a preseason game against many backups has to be taken into account. Barring injury, Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo aren't going to be unseated as the Bears' top two edge rushers. But as Allen looks to get creative with his defensive fronts (i.e., moving Sweat inside in some situations), Booker has an opportunity to earn a substantial role.

Read more: 3 winners (and 2 losers) from Bears' 24-24 deadlock tie against Dolphins

Sunday presented a big opportunity for Booker to state his case for that big role, and he seized it as fully as he possibly could have.