Bears rookie believes he's a 'sleeper' on defense and continues to take advantage of key opportunities in training camp

The Chicago Bears defensive line will be relying heavily on some young players heading into the 2024 season to create some success up-front and the coaching staff has been getting creative with how they plan to utilize their talent.

The Bears have been rotating different players in and out of the first-team lineup on the defensive front during training camp, allowing players to get familiar with playing with each other and in different formations.

One player in particular who's been taking full advantage of all his opportunities since returning for the start of camp has been fifth-round rookie Austin Booker.

The young pass rusher is just one of the few players who have rotated in off the edge with the first-team defense the last few days of practice. Since Saturday, Booker saw even more opportunities with veteran pickup Jacob Martin off the field.

“It’s been great,” Booker said . “I’ve been able to see what the ones’ offensive line looks like and getting a better look than going against the twos. It’s been a great opportunity and just making the best of it.”

"Just trying to make sure that we give him exposure," defensive coordinator Eric Washington said last week . "But at the same time we continue to build him and move him at a pace that we think is reasonable for his long-term development... There's a lot of positives, I saw a lot of things that I'm really excited about. His hand usage, his ability to counter. He's competing out there, he's competing to win."

Between star pass rusher Montez Sweat, veteran DeMarcus Walker and Martin, Booker has been able to fly under the radar in terms of his potential impact. While he's continued to keep his head down and work during practice, the upcoming preseason games will allow Booker to really prove himself playing opposite of the vets.

"It's just going to open it up," Booker added. "I'm a sleeper. Not too many people know about me so having the slide go to them, I get a one-on-one on my side. Just being able to take advantage of that one-on-one and get free will be big this year."

For the time being, that one-on-one has been against Bears left tackle Braxton Jones with Sweat mainly facing right tackle Darnell Wright on the other side of the front.

“Braxton is probably the best tackle, to me, out there,” Booker said. “(He’s) probably top three best tackles I've went against. He has strong-ass hands and he knows when to throw them, too. That’s the biggest thing is timing. Because if you just try to throw them right off the bat, I’m just going to get them off. But if you wait on me to make my move first and then you throw them, that’s when you get guys.”

By having a stable of talented pass rushers on the roster, head coach Matt Eberflus, Washington, and defensive line coach Travis Smith can get creative with how they line up different players to amplify the confusion for the opposing offensive line.

For example, during Monday's practice, The Athletic 's Kevin Fishbain and Adam Jahns reported that the first-team defensive line during the two-minute drill featured Booker and Sweat on the edge with Walker inside next to second-year defensive tackle Gervon Dexter.

Booker noted on Monday that he's also lined up inside at various points throughout camp, despite primarily playing off the edge during his collegiate career.

"It's new to me, but I'm all ears," Booker said. "As many ways as we can confuse the O-linemen, it's great. We had a little twist game going where I pop back [outside] — just bop the guard and pop back out for Dex. They're really smart guys and I'm excited for what we're going to do this year."

Related: Chicago Bears Training Camp Preview: Strength of the defensive line will depend on young players stepping up