1. The Chicago Bears did not draft an elite athlete
The Chicago Bears have been known for leaning on athletic scores when drafting their players, especially on day three. The thought is that the players who fell that far with high upside could be the biggest home runs. This was not the case with Austin Booker, who is a fine athlete but not elite.
Austin Booker was drafted in round 5 pick 144 in the 2024 draft class. He scored a 7.02 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 536 out of 1798 DE from 1987 to 2024. https://t.co/FGifwgEcGZ pic.twitter.com/AH8v1ZwUAE
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 27, 2024
He is thin, which adds to the question of whether he can handle a bigger workload in the NFL. He has a good broad jump, which shows lower body explosiveness, but pass rushers with great agility scores are the ones who can dip around tackles, and also change directions to chase down mobile quarterbacks. He was good to slightly above average in this area, but nothing exceptional to boast about.
Overall, the reasons Booker fell are clear. He is limited in experience and does not have the athletic flash, but he did show production in his limited time. This is an intriguing player, even if he may be maxed out as a rotational pass rusher.