3 stats to know about Chicago Bears fourth-round pick Austin Booker
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.
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.