The Chicago Bears moved a future pick to jump back into the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. In doing so, they drafted Austin Booker, an edge rusher from Kansas. Booker is a player that some thought the team may have been interested in as their third-round pick, and he was also mentioned in the initial fourth-round candidates before the team selected Tory Taylor. He fits a need. What else does Booker bring?
3. Austin Booker does not have much experience
One thing that Austin Booker does not have is experience. Booker started his career at Minnesota and redshirted his freshman year. He spent his redshirt freshman year with the Golden Gophers but hardly saw the field.
Booker played 23 snaps and dressed for just six games. After struggling to find his footing there, he transferred to Kansas. Even at Kansas, he was a rotational pass rusher during his redshirt sophomore season. Still, Booker finally saw the field, playing 482 snaps.
In total, Booker has 505 snaps, with 235 as a run defender and 254 as a pass rusher, and he has dropped into coverage 15 times. That is a very small sample overall.
That is what causes someone to fall into the fourth round. The good news for Booker is that is still only 21 years. The best is ahead of him. He also went to a team where he will likely be the fourth rusher in the rotation to start his career. His rookie year should be about getting him experience and finding out what type of player he can be.