The Colts held their local Pro Day this past Monday, and one of the more notable prospects in attendance was Kansas edge rusher Austin Booker–a potential Day 2 draft pick, as Tom Pelissero noted.
As part of the pre-draft process, each NFL team is able to hold a local Pro Day, where teams invite players who have a “local” tie to the area, whether that be attending college or from a nearby hometown that is within the league-defined parameters that meet the distance criteria.
Booker measures in at just under 6-5 and weighs 248 pounds. He has good length with nearly 34-inch arms and posted a Relative Athletic Score of 7.05, which includes a 4.79-second 40-yard dash.
Booker began his career at Minnesota and red-shirted as a freshman in 2021. During the 2022 season, he would play just 23 defensive snaps. He transferred to Kansas for the 2023 season, where he became a key player along that defensive front. In total, Booker has played only 505 defensive snaps.
With Kansas last season, Booker totaled 38 pressures and nine sacks, according to PFF. Out of 200 edge rushers, Booker ranked 25th in pass rush productivity and 30th in run-stop rate.
For more on Booker’s game, here is what Lance Zierlein of NFL.com wrote in his pre-draft report. I’ll also point out that Zierlein’s comp for Booker is Maxx Crosby:
“Truly unique prospect combining tremendous upside with an extremely limited sample size. A more conservative approach on Booker’s grade might be prudent, but it becomes a difficult route to take when observing his length, explosive athleticism and rush talent. Booker needs to get bigger and stronger, but that will come. The diversity of his rush approach is unheard of for a player with so little playing time. He can stride and dip at the top of the rush or beat tackles back inside with a Euro step or spin counter. He can stab and long-arm tackles into the pocket or stay separated from them at the point of attack. He chases quarterbacks and running backs with agility and burst but can be inconsistent dealing with a downhill running game. His reps against talented Texas left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. could be the springboard to push this gifted edge defender with monster traits up the draft board toward an exciting NFL career.”
Edge rusher is a need for the Colts in the upcoming draft. While they did finish fifth in sacks last season, they ranked 23rd in total pressures and, in general, need more consistency from the pass rush, especially with how little Gus Bradley blitzes.
Booker could see some playing time as a rookie as a back-end member of the rotation, but 2024 will likely be more of a developmental year for him. While he possesses many of the traits a team looks for in a pass rusher, with only 505 career college snaps, there is a bit of rawness to his game.
Booker is PFF’s 11th rated edge rusher and 77th ranked prospect overall.