The Chicago Bears didn’t do anything of significance at defensive end this offseason; instead, they are banking on third-year pro Austin Booker to provide a real complement to Montez Sweat.
Sweat is a pretty good football player. He was selected as a Pro Bowler a couple of years ago, and his head coach feels he’s coming off his best season yet, but the Chicago Bears need more than just him rushing off the edge in 2026.
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They need the 23-year-old Booker to develop into a consistent and reliable threat, which is why he’s the most important defensive player on my list this year.
“He’s just scratching the surface, Sweat said about Booker last month. “I think he’s shown a lot of flashes of the type of player that he could be. He’s still young and still just learning the ins and outs of being a pro, but the sky’s the limit.”
Booker started last year on injured reserve after an extremely productive preseason, and he didn’t play until November. But in ten regular-season games and two playoff contests, he had 44 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, 14 QB hits, 3 passes defended, and a forced fumble.
The Bears also get Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner back from injury this season, but it’s Booker who has the buzz around his return.
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In March, following the free agency rush, the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs wrote about Booker and speculated he’s the reason they didn’t add an EDGE.
“If Austin Booker can pick up where he left off at the end of last season, that’s one way for the Bears to be better rushing the passer,” Biggs said. “We saw him playing at a pretty high level for a little less than half a season. If Booker is healthy and can make a jump from year 2 to year 3, like he did from his rookie season to 2025, they’ll have an interesting player. Is that a lock to happen? Of course not. But I believe the Bears are optimistic about his career arc.”
Booker has bulked up a bit this offseason and has been working on his technique to put himself in the best position possible.
“I’m excited about Book,” Bears defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett said in May. “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.”
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Booker is stronger, he’s quicker, he has more in his pass-rush toolbox, and he’s primed to make a big step in 2026.
