This analyst, and former ACC and NFL quarterback, envisions former Clemson cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. making an instant impact for the Minnesota Vikings.
ACC Network analyst EJ Manuel, who played at Florida State from 2009-12 and was a first-round NFL Draft pick of the Buffalo Bills in 2013, weighed in on Booth being picked by the Vikings in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft last week.
“I think Andrew is going to be a day-one starter,” Manuel said during The Huddle: 2022 Draft Recap on ACCN.
“I mean, look, this is a guy that can really shut down an entire side of the field, and that’s what they want.”
Manuel believes Booth is capable of making an impact in the Vikings’ secondary similar to one of Manuel’s former FSU teammates, Xavier Rhodes — a three-time Pro Bowl cornerback and 2017 first-team All-Pro who was drafted by Minnesota in the first round (25th overall) of the 2013 draft.
“They drafted my teammate back when we came out in 2013 in Xavier Rhodes,” Manuel said. “Ended up being an All-Pro player, Pro Bowl-type player, and I think that Andrew Booth can have that same type of impact for the Minnesota Vikings.”
Projected by many to be a first-round pick, Booth slipped in the draft after not being able to work out at the NFL Scouting Combine and Clemson’s Pro Day following the sports hernia surgery that he underwent in March.
Although Booth fell out of the first round, Manuel thinks being picked in the second round is still a “sweet spot” for the 2021 first-team All-ACC selection.
“I thought he was a first-round-level talent,” Manuel said. “Of course, he had the injury throughout the draft process that didn’t allow him to go and compete in the 40 and all that kind of stuff that would have probably wowed some of the coaches and GMs. But I think this is a sweet spot for him. Going in the second round or in the third round, that’s not a bad place to go. I mean, of course it’s not as much up-front money. But if he plays well, which I think he will, early on in his career, that’ll give him a chance to get paid even sooner.”
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