Film Breakdown: Clemson DB Andrew Booth is a Menace, But He Isn't Perfect

The 21-year-old is considered one of the top cornerbacks in the draft.

Mike Santagata | Apr 8, 2022

Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports

Clemson cornerback Andrew Booth has good size (6-0, 194) and plays with a fire that not many players can match.

He’s a former 5 star recruit from the state of Georgia. He started 15 games during his sophomore and junior seasons at Clemson. In those games he showed some of the best competitive toughness, range, twitch, and ball skills for a corner in this draft class.

Let's take a look at the film and see why Booth is considered one of the best cornerbacks in the 2022 NFL Draft.

What He Does Well

Andrew Booth — © Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

Fights through screens as if his life depended on it. He will give it his all on these plays to both beat the block from the wide receiver and make a tackle on opposing ball carriers. He can be a one man wrecking crew on these plays.

Andrew Booth fights through screens as if his life depends on it. Not only does he beat the block, but he also makes the tackle. pic.twitter.com/0Jgp7si3V5
— mike (@bengals_sans) April 7, 2022

He's a very willing run defender that wants to live in the backfield. He will stick his nose in the backfield to try to take down the ball carrier any time he gets hard run action. He's also a good tackler, especially for a cornerback.

Andrew Booth also plays with his hair on fire in the run game. He plays the run aggressively and likes to attack the ball carrier before they can get downfield. pic.twitter.com/Jv5eOhXxnn
— mike (@bengals_sans) April 7, 2022

Booth possesses a very smooth, low to the ground backpedal that he can utilize while playing off coverage. He keeps his shoulders square and proper cushion as he backpedals allowing him to read the quarterback and receiver. It also keeps him square with the receiver allowing for him to move with him.

Andrew Booth has a low, smooth backpedal. It's his best technique in coverage. pic.twitter.com/f2V6s1qNKn
— mike (@bengals_sans) April 8, 2022

He reacts extremely well to the ball being thrown and instinctively closes on opponents to make the tackle. He routinely will tackle the receiver for no additional yardage when he is high-low'd on the outside. This quick change of direction and acceleration is good to see on the field, especially since he didn't go through athletic testing.

pic.twitter.com/kt5hHManVn
— Wally the dog (@pff_wally) April 8, 2022

Keeps a good cushion in press situations and does a great job to jam the receiver. He sticks the receiver and throws them off their route timing with both a glide then jam move as well as an immediate jam.

pic.twitter.com/BTIipMmJBN
— Wally the dog (@pff_wally) April 8, 2022

Booth has nice ball skills break up passes through the hands of the receiver as well as catching the ball himself for interceptions.

pic.twitter.com/Eu61HL8h4C
— Wally the dog (@pff_wally) April 8, 2022

Areas of Concern

Andrew Booth celebrate smile — © Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

Booth tends to narrow his base a little bit too much when in press coverage which makes it difficult to react to quick breaking routes.

pic.twitter.com/mBD3Lr8OvC
— Wally the dog (@pff_wally) April 8, 2022

He has a tendency to open his hips up a little bit too early which makes him susceptible to routes that push vertically before breaking.

pic.twitter.com/V2yAC992aX
— Wally the dog (@pff_wally) April 8, 2022

He can be too aggressive when playing cloud coverage towards the underneath route.

pic.twitter.com/JNQx7R8bVs
— Wally the dog (@pff_wally) April 8, 2022

Overall Thoughts

Booth should be an immediate starter and positive contributor wherever he ends up going.

He needs to work on the man coverage aspects of his game, such as keeping a wide base in press and staying more patient and calm to the break point. He can bite a little bit on fakes and double moves, while also opening his hips up a tad early when the receiver threatens him vertically. Other than that, Booth has the desired athleticism and ball skills to become a glue trap in man coverage. He also does a solid job of maintaining his positional maintenance and proper leverage when playing man coverage to play towards his help. He has long arms and good hand placement to eventually become a monster as a press cornerback.

On standard spot-drop zone coverages, he did a great job of playing bail or off and reading everything in front of him, even though he didn't appear to be tasked with much match coverage in Clemson’s defense.

Booth's backpedal and “click and close” ability really shine in zone coverage to quickly break on passes and either stop the receiver before he gets going or get his hand in between the receiver’s hands to bat the ball down. He possesses desirable ball skills at the cornerback position which should translate well to the NFL.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention how tough he is on screens and in the run game. Sometimes he can be a smidge too aggressive, but overall this is where his best contribution may come. Access RPO’s against off coverage are useless against him and he will punish bad blocking from wide receivers to tackle the ball carrier short of the sticks.

Scheme Fit

Booth should go to a system that allows him to play aggressive, downhill football. He would be a menace in the Vic Fangio quarters/half-quarter-quarter/quarter-quarter-half system although he has the potential to fit just about anywhere. He may just need some time to reach his maximum ability in other defensive schemes.

Grade

Mid-First Round

Pro Comparison

Vontae Davis

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