Bears trade back into the 2024 NFL Draft and select Montez Sweat's newest pass rushing partner
The Chicago Bears have made a trade and moved back into the 2024 NFL Draft after previously using their final pick on Iowa punter Tory Taylor. As general manager Ryan Poles suggested on Friday night, the Bears used a 2025 draft pick to move back onto the board and has selected a new pass rusher […]
The Chicago Bears have made a trade and moved back into the 2024 NFL Draft after previously using their final pick on Iowa punter Tory Taylor.
As general manager Ryan Poles suggested on Friday night, the Bears used a 2025 draft pick to move back onto the board and has selected a new pass rusher in Kansas defensive end Austin Booker.
In order to move back into the draft, the Bears traded a 2025 fourth round pick for the Buffalo Bills' 144th selection in the fifth round. The Bears now have eight selections remaining in next year's draft after the trade.
There was no way the Bears were walking out of the 2024 NFL Draft without taking a defensive prospect and they got one that head coach Matt Eberflus and defensive coordinator Eric Washington are going to love developing.
Booker is seen as a relatively raw prospect in terms of experience after logging just just 505 career college snaps. However, he's an ascending player who racked up 8.0 sacks and 12.0 tackles for a loss during his final season at Kansas.
The Bears brought Booker in for a late Top-30 visit a week before the draft and fell in love with his athletic traits and potential. Booker will now join the Bears' defensive line with the potential to eventually start opposite Montez Sweat on the edge.
"It's just a great opportunity," Booker said. "We've already DM'd on Instagram and already said we're about to get to work. "I'm just excited to get there in Chicago, learn from him and just keep getting better."
During this entire process, adding an additional edge rusher to play alongside Sweat has been seen more as a want than a need considering the team also had DeMarcus Walker and Dominique Robinson at the position.
Booker will now turn into a fun project player for Eberflus and Washington to hopefully develop into a real star on the defensive line. It was a great surprise to see with the Bears bringing in their fifth prospect of the draft.
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