30 Most Important Bears of 2026: Austin Booker (No. 17)

The Chicago Bears are gearing up for a hyped 2026 season, where they’re looking to build off their impressive first season under head coach Ben Johnson, which included an NFC North title and a wild-card playoff win. While they found success in 2025, it’s a brand new slate for this Bears team following an offseason of change, including the departures of key veterans and the additions of new veterans and exciting rookies.

The work begins in training camp, where Johnson will put his team through the wringer with the intent to prepare them for the 2026 season. Every day from now right up through training camp, we’re counting down our 30 Most Important Bears for the 2026 season. We’ll recap their 2025 season, look ahead to 2026 and tackle the biggest question facing them this year.

At No. 17 is edge rusher Austin Booker, who made major strides in Year 2 after becoming the starter following Dayo Odeyingbo‘s season-ending injury. With the lack of moves being made at the position, it seems like the Bears are counting on Booker to be a major contributor in 2026.

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Booker’s 2025 season didn’t get off to the best start. He faced a significant setback when he suffered a knee injury during the preseason that kept him out of the first seven games. What made the situation more frustrating was Booker was a full participant in practice coming back from injured reserve, but the Bears opted to play it safe with his return. When Booker hit the field again, though, he made quite the impact. His first game back was in Week 9 against the Cincinnati Bengals, where he recorded a sack, a forced fumble, and a tackle for loss. From there, Booker slowly but steadily became a reliable complement to Montez Sweat. Booker was a disruptor during the second half of the season, batting balls at the line and accumulating sacks and QB hits. In 10 games, Booker notched 35 tackles (five for loss), 4.5 sacks, 12 QB hits, three passes defensed, and a forced fumble.

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The Bears decided to stand pat at edge rusher both in free agency and the draft, not making any significant move to bolster the position. That speaks volumes about the confidence they have in the returning players like Booker. Odeyingbo has shown progress returning from his torn Achilles but still has a ways to go before he’s game-ready. That opens the door for Booker to take hold of the starting edge rusher job for good. It already looks like he’s serious about not giving it back, too. Booker looks noticeably bigger entering Year 3 and should be equipped to handle more of a workload in 2026. He’s a popular breakout candidate and could really make a name for himself with a hot start to the season.

Though Booker is entering Year 3 of his NFL career, he’s still just 23 years old. He was a raw prospect coming out of Kansas back in 2024, and the thought was that he could become a menace on the defensive line with more time and coaching. Through two years, Booker has steadily improved, so is this now the year he fully breaks out and reaches his potential? Booker has the same defensive coordinator and same position coach for the second year in a row, along with most of the same defensive line from last year as well. There’s something to be said for developing chemistry with offensive and defensive lines, which should help Booker when it comes to executing his assignments. And he’s also put on weight to help combat some of the better tackles in the league. The ability is there with Booker, and we’re seeing him start to put it all together. It’s not a stretch to say he breaks out in 2026, making him an even more important player on the team going forward.

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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: 30 Most Important Bears of 2026: Austin Booker (No. 17)