LAWRENCE — Austin Booker is in line to be one of the latest Kansas football players to be selected in the NFL draft, scheduled for later this month.

Booker, a defensive lineman this past season, emerged as one of the best pass rushers in the Big 12 Conference and college in general this past season. A transfer from Minnesota, he filled a much-needed void at KU and delivered. Without him, the Jayhawks would have been hard pressed to play at the same level defensively that they did at times in 2023.

Booker helped Kansas to a second-straight bowl game for the first time in more than a decade. He was a key part of the Jayhawks’ best season in more than a decade. At its end, he finished as KU’s leader in tackles for loss and sacks despite not playing much previously in his college career.

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Here are a few projections on where Booker might be selected in this year’s NFL draft:

The Athletic: 3rd round

This projection sees Booker, described as an edge talent, land in the third round. He’d be the 89th overall pick. He’d go to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Sporting News: 3rd round

This projection sees Booker, again an edge talent, picked up in the third round. He’d be the 98th overall pick. He’d go to the Pittsburgh Steelers, by way of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Bleacher Report: 3rd round

This projection sees Booker, again an edge talent, selected in the third round. He’d be the 85th overall pick. He’d go to the Cleveland Browns.

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas football's Austin Booker is a projected NFL draft pick