Chicago’s biggest free agent signings this offseason were on their defensive and offensive fronts. Defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, and center Drew Dalman all earned three-year contracts with values north of $40MM. Odeyingbo will now line up across from Montez Sweat on the ends of the defensive line, which will force a promising, young second-year player to come off the bench in his sophomore campaign. 
According to Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic, Austin Booker seems primed for a breakout season in 2025. A fifth-round rookie last year, Booker didn’t get any starts in his first season, but he became an important member of the defensive line rotation early and often throughout the year. In the first half of the season, he frequently was on the field for a third of the team’s defensive snaps, twice seeing the field for nearly half of the defense’s snaps in games. In his limited time, he tallied 1.5 sacks, four quarterback hits, and three tackles for loss.
Booker benefits most this year from a lack of depth at the position. Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter and second-round rookie Shemar Turner both have the flexibility to kick outside in bigger formations, but behind Sweat and Odeyingbo, Booker is competing as a true edge rusher with Dominique Robinson, Xavier Carlton, Daniel Hardy, and Jamree Kromah. Robinson has more experience than Booker, but in three years, he’s struggled to stay on the field and struggled to make an impact whenever he is available. Carlton is impressive but has much to prove as an undrafted free agent rookie. Hardy was a special teamer for most of last year, and Kromah was an undrafted rookie who failed to ever see the field in 2024.
While Booker didn’t jump off the stat sheet in Year 1, he showed lots of promise. With a lack of serious competition behind him, Booker is primed to enter training camp as the first defensive end off the bench. If he can hold that position going into the regular season, the 22-year-old should have plenty of opportunities to get on the field and make a name for himself in Year 2.
