Bears rookie minicamp takeaways: Plan to turn Austin Booker into Maxx Crosby-like weapon originally appeared in NBC Sports Chicago
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The comparison hovered around Austin Booker during the pre-draft process, but his presence wasn’t an annoyance or a distraction.
Instead, he and the Bears, who drafted Kansas edge rusher in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, welcomed.
A long, raw pass rusher with a motor that’s always revving, NFL evaluators saw shades of Las Vegas Raiders star Maxx Crosby in Booker. The comparison isn’t about what Booker is now, but about what the Bears can help him become.
It’s a comparison Booker welcomes, especially as he prepares to work with Bears defensive line coach Travis Smith, who helped develop Crosby with the Silver and Black.
Smith and Booker discussed the Crosby comparison at the NFL Scouting Combine and during Booker’s 30th visit to Halas Hall.
But there is no “Maxx Crosby project”. Crosby became a star through sheer will and determination. Booker will have to do the same.
“What he also needs to understand, no matter what the similarities are, the style they play, the effort they play with, some of the movement skills they have, it all comes down to he has to be Austin Booker.” Smith said after the Bears’ rookie minicamp ended Saturday. “Because Maxx Crosby, Maxx Crosby’s heart is Maxx Crosby. Austin Booker needs to make a name for himself by being himself and setting the standard for who he will be. I appreciate the young people who enjoy watching NFL football and studying a little too, but I also want them to create their own identity.”
Crosby and Booker have already connected. The Raiders star gave Booker some advice, and the Bears rookie plans to pick his brain as much as possible when his journey begins.
For the Bears, that journey starts with improving what Booker already excels at before moving on to the advanced part of the plan.
“What we want to do is take what he can do and really hone in and mold that, develop him, inform him of all the things that will allow him to play as fast and as physically as possible,” defensive coordinator Eric Washington said. he said. “Just build a player. Build a person and build a player.”
Construction began this weekend on Halas Hall during rookie minicamp. There’s not much to take away from a light practice at short, but the Bears were pleased with Booker’s early growth during the two-day camp, especially in the film room.
“For a rookie, I call it the race to maturity,” Smith said. “The teams that are successful in this league today are those where young people play faster and are able to impact the game. , special teams, the faster they can impact the game, the faster our team will get to where we want to be.
“So you talk about what his development is? What’s our plan? Every day is constant improvement. Today he came out and he was better than he was yesterday. He still has a long way to go.”
Just as the Bears have a plans to develop quarterback Caleb Williamsthey have one to turn Booker into an edge rusher who can consistently wreak havoc alongside Montez Sweat.
This starts with getting the little things right. Getting the process dialed in. Then, growth begins.
“First of all, know the package,” Washington said of his benchmarks for Booker. “Make sure you understand from one call to the next how to line up, how to receive whatever information we have for you before the ball is snapped. , and then when we actually start playing football, and when he has to go physical against one of our linemen or whoever we have out there, I want to see him win. I want to see his confidence start to grow and that’s part of my responsibility to make sure he understands this process and that I’m giving him the right feedback, if there’s something good he’ll know about it, so we can multiply that.”
Here are more notes from Halas Hall’s rookie minicamp:
Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower praised fourth-round pick Tory Taylor for his rare combination of strength and touch. Taylor showed off his strength on the first day of camp and worked with precision on Day 2. Taylor felt good about his two-day camp, but has work to do.
“I think it went well,” Taylor said. “I think it’s one of those things where you always, nothing is perfect. And I’m always walking off the field thinking, I guess if you walk off the field saying, ‘Oh yeah, today was perfect,’ then you probably shouldn’t be here if that makes sense.”
For Taylor, it will take some time to get used to the conditions in Chicago as he begins his NFL career.
“I think one thing that caught me a little bit by surprise was how strong the wind is here,” Taylor said. “I guess that’s why they call it the Windy City. But those are just things I’ll learn as we go along. But there’s a lot of things to be happy about and a lot of things to learn from, as long as I’m playing football. That’s how it’s going to be and that’s how I want it to be.”
Taylor became the first member of the Bears’ rookie classo sign your contractsigning a four-year contract on Saturday.
– Third-round pick Kiran Amegadjie Did not participate in rookie minicamp and is not expected to practice in mandatory OTAs or minicamps as he continues to recover from quad surgery in October.
The Bears medically cleared Amegadjie before signing him, but are playing it safe with the developmental offense.
The Yale product said he “feels good” and will be ready to take the field when the all clear is clear.
“I mean, we’ll see,” Amegadjie said when asked if he would be ready for training camp. “We’ll see how it all plays out. I’m going to trust them and their guidance on this. I’m not a doctor. I know how my body feels and how to communicate that to them. We’ll see as time goes on.”
– Amegadjie was one of many Bears to praise Williams, who is already leaving his mark on the organization.
“He’s already a big presence in the locker room,” Amegadjie said of Williams. “He’s a good leader. He’s a hard-working person. He’s always the first one there in the morning. When I get here, he’s already here. So I think he’s going to be a great leader for us on this team.”
– Wide receiver Rome Odunze practiced on Friday but was held out on Saturday with a tight hamstring.
But even though he wasn’t running routes on Day 2 of minicamp, Odunze still managed to get mental reps in and was busy talking to wide receivers Chris Beatty and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron during the two-hour session.
“How smart he is,” Beatty said when asked what stood out over Odunze during the minicamp. “He’s very smart. We went through that process in the draft, trying to find the smartest guys and talking to them. And all these guys are very smart, but he’s super smart. He’s able to understand things. And I think he I have a sense of a pro kit that you get from being in a college offense that has some pro principles in it, so I think that gave him an advantage, but he’s one of those guys that learns things very quickly.
-Williams It was as advertised during the two-day camp. He it was accurate and precise and I made sure to immediately correct any rep who failed. Arm talent is rare, and the the mental wiring is unique.
Even his approach to becoming a leader on a rapidly growing Bears team is immune to criticism.
“To be a great leader, you must first learn to follow,” Williams said. “So right now, I’m following all the vets, I’m following all the trainers. I’m listening, with both ears open and my mouth closed. Just kind of sitting there listening, and when I get to the point where when I learn everything, when I learn how do we do that with the culture, the playbook and what the offensive line, all the receivers are doing, running backs and tight ends and things like that, so you can start taking the lead, so you can start taking charge of everything. this and take the next steps.
“For now, though, I’m listening more than talking and talking, and I’m taking it one step at a time, being in the moment.”
Williams and the Bears have a lot of growing up to do. There will be obstacles along the way and mistakes to be corrected. Williams’ leadership style will likely come under scrutiny at some point.
But for now, in this moment, there was little for everyone around Halas Hall to do but smile, flash Williams’ “Bear Claw” sign and imagine everything that could come next.
