Mock drafts continue to make the rounds online as the 2022 NFL Draft (April 28-30 in Las Vegas) draws closer.
Despite not being able to work out at the NFL Scouting Combine and Clemson’s Pro Day due to a quad injury he suffered while training for the 40-yard dash ahead of the combine, former Tiger cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. is still widely projected as a first-round pick in next month’s draft.
The Ringer appears to be the highest on Booth, projecting the 2021 first-team All-ACC selection as a top-15 pick and predicting him to be taken by the Baltimore Ravens with the 14th overall selection.
“With Marcus Peters heading into the final year of his contract and coming off an ACL injury, the Ravens look to the future at the cornerback spot,” The Ringer’s Danny Kelly wrote. “Booth brings size and playmaking instincts to Baltimore and could start opposite Marlon Humphrey early in his career.”
These new mock drafts from Pro Football Network’s Cam Mellor and CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco project Booth to be taken by the Philadelphia Eagles with the No. 19 overall pick.
“The Eagles once again hit the defensive well in this class with their third first-round pick,” Mellor wrote. “Andrew Booth Jr. has great length and even better abilities at the catch point. He’s just realizing his potential and could dramatically transform a coverage unit that is more than just one piece away from being complete. Booth is a huge step in the completion of their secondary.”
Wrote Prisco: “They have to get better at corner, which is why this makes sense with one of their three first-round picks.”
CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson, meanwhile, has Booth coming off the board two picks later to the New England Patriots with the 21st pick in the first round.
“Andrew Booth had a strong ’21 season for Clemson and he’s only going to get better with experience,” Wilson wrote. “The Patriots lost J.C. Jackson to the Chargers and they’ll need to upgrade their secondary this offseason, something they didn’t do during the first week of free agency.”
Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus recently projected Booth to be taken by the Buffalo Bills at No. 25 overall.
“After the Bills signed Tim Settle, DaQuan Jones, and Von Miller, cornerback now becomes their clear-cut first-round priority, especially with Levi Wallace gone, too,” Sikkema wrote. “Booth is a long athletic corner who is still developing but presents a high ceiling as a man and zone coverage player.”
A new mock draft from USA Today’s Nate Davis has Booth going to the Kansas City Chiefs with the third-to-last pick in the first round (No. 30 overall).
“Given how often the ball is – and likely will remain – in the air in the AFC West, you can never have enough good corners,” Davis wrote. “And the Chiefs could definitely use a new one with Charvarius Ward off to San Francisco and Mike Hughes headed to Detroit. An All-ACC performer in 2021, Booth’s stock has slipped a bit after a leg injury kept him out of the combine plus last week’s revelation that he needs core muscle surgery. But he could represent solid value at this slot.”
Booth recorded 75 tackles (5.5 for loss), 10 pass breakups, five interceptions, a sack and a fumble recovery (which he returned 21 yards for a touchdown) in 981 defensive snaps over 35 career games (15 starts) during his Clemson career from 2019-21.
The Dacula, Ga., native was a first-team All-ACC selection in 2021 and also earned first-team all-conference honors from the AP, PFF and Phil Steele after tallying 39 tackles (3.0 for loss), five pass breakups, a team-high three interceptions over 581 snaps in 11 games (all starts).
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