Andrew Booth Jr. is headed to Minneapolis.
As expected, Booth was the first Clemson player taken in this year’s NFL Draft. The Minnesota Vikings selected the Tigers’ former cornerback in the second round Friday, making Booth the 42nd overall pick.
Clemson’s streak of three straight years with at least one first-round pick was snapped Thursday, but Booth’s selection marks the fifth time in the last seven years Clemson has had a cornerback drafted. He was the sixth corner taken behind LSU’s Derek Stingley Jr. (third overall to the Houston Texans), Cincinnati’s Sauce Gardner (fourth overall to the New York Jets), Washington’s Trent McDuffie (21st overall to the Kansas City Chiefs), Florida’s Kaiir Elam (23rd overall to the Buffalo Bills) and Auburn’s Roger McCreary (35th overall to the Tennessee Titans).
A former blue-chip recruit, Booth played 35 games over three years at Clemson after signing with the Tigers out of Archer (Georgia) High in 2019. The 6-foot, 200-pounder often teased with the raw athleticism he used to create head-turning plays in the secondary, including an acrobatic one-handed interception against Virginia during the 2020 season.
Nagging injuries limited him to just four starts during his first two seasons with the Tigers, but Booth experienced a breakout season as a junior when he started 11 games. He posted career-highs in tackles (39) and pass breakups (5) while also pulling down a team-high three interceptions en route to first-team all-ACC honors. Booth finished his career at Clemson with 14 passes defended and five picks.
Booth reportedly underwent hernia surgery recently, which kept him from participating in the NFL scouting combine and Clemson’s pro day last month. Yet the xx felt good enough about Booth’s health to make him the Tigers’ fourth-highest drafted corner since the turn of the century.
Booth is the 70th player drafted out of Clemson during Dabo Swinney’s tenure as head coach. The draft will continue with the rest of the second round and third round today before wrapping up Saturday with rounds 4-7.
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