Almost everyone believed Andrew Booth Jr. would be long gone by the time the 10th pick in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft rolled around.
But instead, the former Clemson star cornerback was still on the board, and the Minnesota Vikings seized the chance to grab him with the 42nd overall pick.
According to ESPN’s draft predictor, there was only a 24-percent chance that Booth would be available at that point in the draft. But he was — the sports hernia surgery that he underwent recently hurt his stock and caused him to slip in the draft after he was unable to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine and Clemson’s Pro Day — and the Vikings ended up getting great value with their selection.
After the Vikings grabbed Booth, ESPN Senior NFL Draft Analyst Mel Kiper Jr. broke down the pick and gave his take on what the 2021 first-team All-ACC selection is bringing to Minnesota.
“I think the ball skills and the talent certainly are evident with Andrew Booth Jr.,” Kiper said during ESPN’s coverage of the draft. “Now, he had the sports hernia injury. He should be fine coming off that.”
When he watched Booth on tape, Kiper saw him display shutdown-cornerback ability at times, similar to that of two corners who went much higher in this year’s NFL Draft than Booth — LSU’s Derek Stingley Jr. (No. 3 overall pick to the Houston Texans) and Cincinnati’s Sauce Gardner (No. 4 overall pick to the New York Jets).
“You would expect Andrew Booth Jr. this year to be the lockdown corner that Sauce Gardner was, that Derek Stingley was in 2019, and he certainly had games where he showcased that type of ability,” Kiper said. “He turns easy, runs with the fastest of the receivers, and he will come up and he will smack you, he will hit you. Very aggressive corner.”
Kiper called Booth a “remarkable talent” but said he noticed “some lapses” from Booth in coverage concentration wise, though he added that he believes the former Tiger could be a good NFL cornerback if he can become more consistent at the next level.
“I think when you look at Andrew Booth Jr., some lapses, there was some concentration in coverage,” Kiper said. “You see the striking ability. He will throw that body around. You think about the ball skills, pretty solid as well. He processes things quickly. I think when you look at Andrew Booth Jr., had he been more consistent, he’d have been a first-round draft choice with the talent he brings to the position…
“He is a remarkable talent, but if he can really solidify a little bit more of a level of consistency at the pro level, he could be a good corner in this league.”
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