Defensive End · Chicago Bears

Austin Booker

No. 94 · 3rd season

The Bears are building their defense around Austin Booker

Every defense needs someone the whole thing runs through. For the Chicago Bears going into 2026, that person is Austin Booker.

Booker plays edge rusher — his job is to get to the quarterback, disrupt the backfield, and make the offense nervous before the snap. The Bears have him ranked as the fourth most important player on their entire roster for the coming year, and the most important on that defense. That kind of internal confidence is not handed out quietly.

What it means, practically, is that the Bears are not hedging. They are leaning on Booker to anchor what they want their defense to become. When a team builds a plan around one person, that person either carries it or the whole thing shifts.

Booker is now the name to watch on that side of the ball. The question is what he does with the room.

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