The Chicago Bears drafted a project in edge defender Austin Booker, banking on their ability to develop him into a high-level NFL pass rusher over time. However, it appears the team’s coaching staff won’t have to shoulder all of that responsibility on its own.
Booker spoke with media members following Chicago’s rookie minicamp practice on Saturday, May 11, during which he said he is in contact with three-time Pro Bowler and Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby. The Bears rookie also noted that Crosby has offered his mentorship as Booker embarks on his professional career.
“So we train in the offseason with the same guy, Javon Gopie, and he just connected us,” Booker said. “He called me after I got drafted, just letting me know I can reach out whenever I have a question or any type of thing like that, because he obviously has a great process how he does things because he’s able to compete at a high level. So having that resource has just been great.”
Bears Edge Rusher Austin Booker Looking to Take ‘Everything I Can’ From Mentor Maxx Crosby
GettyLas Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby.
One reporter asked Booker a follow-up question on what he’d like to take from Crosby and his mentorship, as the defensive end has amassed 88 tackles for loss and 52 sacks over just five years in the NFL.
“Everything I can,” Booker continued. “Whether that’s nutrition or just, like, his mobility routine. Just stuff like that. If I can take whatever I can from him and all the other great players I come about, and just add it to my game.”
Booker, a fifth-round pick of the Bears in the 2024 draft (No. 144 overall), stands at 6-feet, 4.5-inches and weighs 240 pounds. He ran a 4.79-second 40-yard dash and registered a 32.5-inch vertical leap. Booker amassed 12 tackles for loss and 8 sacks across 12 games for the Kansas Jayhawks last season, per Football Reference.
Austin Booker Has ‘High Upside,’ Could Prove Draft ‘Steal’ for Bears Sooner Than Later
GettyEdge defender Austin Booker of the Chicago Bears.
The book on Booker is that he has the potential to develop into a better-than-average starter in the league, with a max ceiling even higher than that. His promise is what led Chicago to trade a fourth-round pick in 2025 to move back into the fifth round of this year’s draft and select Booker at what remains a position of need for the Bears as the summer approaches.
“After trading back into the draft, the Bears pick up a high-upside pass-rusher,” Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus wrote on May 7. “Booker racked up 38 pressures and nine sacks in 2023 while posting a 14.8% pass-rush win rate. He has instant upside as a designated pass-rusher and could develop his play strength to become a three-down player.”
Sikkema isn’t the only draft analyst who believes the Bears may have found themselves a steal in Booker.
“The Bears used a 2025 fourth-round pick to trade back into this draft (at No. 144) and scoop up Booker, who easily could have been drafted on Day 2,” Dane Brugler of The Athletic wrote on April 29. “Although he isn’t ready for a meaningful role as a rookie, Booker has the promising pass-rush savvy to be a steal when we look back at this selection in two or three years.”
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Bears Rookie DE Austin Booker Has Found 3-Time Pro Bowl Mentor on Rival Team