Austin Booker’s continued development has Bears coaches ‘excited’ while the staff looks to improve the struggling pass rush starting in OTAs
Chicago Bears defensive end Austin Booker earned some praise from the coaching staff going into organized team activities and will play a big role in turning around the team’s disappointing pass rush unit.
The Chicago Bears had one lingering concern from the outside looking in going into organized team activities and that concern is whether or not the Bears are doing enough to improve what turned out to be a disappointing pass rush.
Instead of landing an impact player off the edge like Maxx Crosby or a top rookie prospect, the Bears instead focused on attacking the back seven this offseason and aim to coach the returning players better on the defensive front.
That work finally kicks into gear this week during OTAs with the full 90-man roster back on the field working closely with the coaching staff.
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson shares the impression Austin Booker has made entering OTAs
Last season, the team’s pass rush seemed like a one-man army for most of the season with defensive end Montez Sweat doing his best to attack the quarterback at a consistent rate. Things didn’t improve much until Austin Booker returned mid-season from a preseason knee injury, giving the unit a slight spark.
For Booker, being fully healthy this offseason with a second year in this scheme will open up a big opportunity for his development.
“He’s another one that missed some time last year and so I think the more time on task we have – coaching staff, how we’re coaching things – I think it’s just going to add up,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson told reporters Thursday.
Booker is set to enter into his third season with the Bears and is still only 23-years-old. Chicago traded back into the 2024 NFL Draft to select Booker in the fifth-round because they saw promise in what he could eventually turn into. Everyone in the building believes this could be the year Booker rewards the team for its patience.
“He’s still a young player, he’s still developing,” Johnson added. “His body’s changed since he came into the building a year ago, from where we ended the season even until when he came back in for the spring program. He continues to add more mass, stronger player. He gets smarter as we go. I think the coaching is going to be conducive to his style of play as well.”
Getting bigger was a point of emphasis defensive coordinator Dennis Allen shared he had for Booker last year during training camp. Based on Johnson’s impression once Booker returned for OTAs, it’s clear that’s still something he’s focused on.
Booker recently shared that he’s sitting at 255 pounds now after playing at 248 last season. Putting on more weight will go a long way, but the emphasis on the technique and fundamentals from the coaching staff will mean even more.
Austin Booker isn’t an exemption from the emphasis on coaching the staff is looking to have defensively
“I’m excited about Book,” DL coach Jeremy Garrett said last week. “The one thing we looked at is as simple as this, the consistency of his stance and explosion off the ball is making him more efficient and more fluid. I’ve been excited, these couple of weeks working with him, he’s doing a really good job of exploding off the ball and taking the fight to them. . .
“You can see his talent, you can see his ability to get off blocks, you can see the way he rushes the passer. He plays with phenomenal effort. So, it’s about cleaning up the start of the down. And I’ll tell him, ‘Man, let’s get you to your work faster.’”
For Booker himself, doing just that is also about not overthinking as much. You can think before the snap and understand where the offense is lining up and the gap you need to attack. Bu, once the balls snapped, there’s no time for thinking. You gotta go. He’s realized that, and immediately got to work fixing it last season.
“I feel like it was before the season started,” Booker said, via CHGO Bears. “Just from overthinking stuff to playing how I know to play and that got me there to where I’m good at hammering that stuff. I feel like that’s what turned the corner where I was able to do what I’m best at at the highest level and it was clicking.”
If players like Booker continue showing out and impressing throughout the rest of OTAs and the offseason – with the coaches being more direct with coaching the technique and fundamentals – the Bears should see a much improved product from the pass rushers. And perhaps a breakout season could be on the way for Booker in Year 3.