Could Clemson Cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. be the Next A.J. Terrell?

While Andrew Booth Jr.'s NFL stock appears to be falling, once healthy, the former Clemson cornerback is primed to help a defense right away.

A.J. Terrell wasn't an incredibly highly-touted cornerback coming out of Clemson in 2020.

Some NFL draft pundits didn't think he'd even be a first-round selection. Even many Atlanta fans bemoaned the pick when Terrell was taken 16th overall by the Falcons.

Fast forward to now and look at Terrell. He's coming off a breakout season in just his second year as a pro. He was named the best-performing cornerback in the 2021 season by Pro Football Focus. 

Terrell looks like a future All-Pro in the NFL, but he wasn't so popular in the draft world. Could another former Clemson cornerback be following a similar path?

Andrew Booth Jr., who had a stellar 2021 campaign for the Tigers, entered draft season with a lot of buzz. Many draft pundits had him as at least a top-15 pick, and momentum was rising for the Georgia native. 

Much of that has subsided in recent weeks. Booth's inability to perform due to injury at the NFL combine or Clemson's Pro Day earlier this month has certainly played a role in his draft stock falling. He had surgery to repair a core muscle injury, but it's not something that will keep him out for very long. 

Clemson CB Andrew Booth Jr., a projected first-round pick, recently underwent sports hernia surgery with Dr. Williams Meyers in Philadelphia but still is expected to be ready for the start of training camp, per league sources.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 30, 2022

Look at his stock, though. Here are where three reputable sites currently have Booth going:

• ESPN.com (Mel Kiper's latest mock draft): Not in the first round.
• NFL.com: 31st overall to the Cincinnati Bengals.
• CBS Sports: 21st to the New England Patriots.

Pundits simply aren't that high on Booth, who produced 37 tackles, three tackles for a loss and three interceptions in his junior season. He earned All-ACC first-team honors and became the kind of defender many folks in the recruiting world believed he could eventually be. Booth is regarded as having freak athleticism and has greatly improved his tackling. 

...this makes no sense lol (s/o @GrindingMocks) https://t.co/0mJ5q37krL pic.twitter.com/Rp9Kd6fYMy

— Kegan Reneau (@KeganReneau) March 27, 2022

As you can see in the tweet above, it hasn't translated in the draft world. But that's not necessarily the way NFL teams see it. 

Mock drafts are projections and the opinions of those making them. They aren't always exactly how a team feels about a particular player. All it takes is one team to fall in love with Booth and have a need at cornerback. 

And like Terrell, it shouldn't be a surprise if an NFL squad "reaches." Booth has tremendous ability and could very well help a defense right away. 

Just in pure talent, he's every bit the prospect of Terrell and maybe even more so, making Booth potentially a great value pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

The odds of Booth being the first corner taken in the draft currently sit at +5000, according to Fanduel.

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