2022 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: CB Andrew Booth, Jr, Clemson

Andrew Booth has some impressive upside to keep an eye on if he lands on an NFL roster by Day 3. Nick has your breakdown on what he brings and why he's so intriguing.

Author:
Nick Falato
Publish date:
Mar 29, 2022 10:17 AM EDT

In this story:

Clemson Tigers

Andrew Booth Jr., CB

Height: 6’0
Weight: 194 lbs.
Class: Junior
School: Clemson
Arm length: 31 ½”
Hand size: 9 ⅜”

A former-five star recruit from Dacula, Georgia, where he attended Archer High School, Booth was the 2nd cornerback ranked in the 2019 cycle behind LSU’s Derek Stingley Jr. and the third prospect out of Georgia behind Oklahoma’s Jadon Haselwood and Georgia’s Travon Walker.

Notables

Booth was very productive as a high school football player; he recorded 162 tackles and 13 interceptions on his way to earning a five-star rating. Booth was second-team All-ACC in 2020 and first-team All-ACC in 2021. Booth recorded 50 tackles, 5.5 for a loss, five interceptions, 14 passes deflected, a sack, and one pressure throughout his career at Clemson.

Booth attended the Combine but did not take part in the testing or drills, due to a recent quad injury that’s not supposed to hurt his availability. Booth was ejected from a 2021 game against Louisville for throwing an opposing player on the ground, mounting him, and then throwing a punch at his facemask.

Strengths

Good size, adequate length
Explosive athlete who can close width quickly
A very physical CB who isn’t scared to impose at the line of scrimmage
Uses strong jam at LOS - has the hips to flip
Stays in phase well off the initial portion of WRs release when in man coverage
Does a solid job carrying routes vertically in man coverage
Great vision and eye discipline in zone coverage
Click & close downhill is excellent and showcases his short-area quickness, burst, and pursuit
Understands offensive route concepts - will sink under the seven while maintaining a presence in the flat versus smash
Good spatial awareness in zone - a very smart player
Understands backside routes and knows when to sink deep to cut off deep crossers in zone
Showed ability to high point the football and position his body well to intercept balls that don’t account for his coverage skills and athletic ability
Good overall ball skills - is physical with his attempt to intercept the football
Judges the ball in the air and times his jumps well
Good body control and concentration when going up for jump balls, uses length well
Plays through the catch point with excellent competitive toughness
Physicality really showed in run support - an excellent run defender who punishes ball carriers
Had several huge run STOPS near the LOS where he came downhill aggressively to make a big hit
Very good when coming downhill - great angles of pursuit, aiming points, and he isn’t scared to hit
Competitiveness will never be a question with Booth
Was only called for one penalty in college (other than the 2021 ejection against Louisville)

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Can Improve

A bit high-cut in the hips
Played a lot more zone coverage than man
Aggressive punch at LOS could be exposed against NFL WRs
Quick transitions, with built-up momentum, are solid, but not elite
Center of gravity rises out of breaks, making transitions not as clean
When in man coverage - inside leverage - outside the divider (chest slightly angled towards sideline), Booth took some time to throttle speed down off vertically sold stems, leaving him susceptible to well-timed comebacks and curls near the sideline
Love his physical nature, but he flies in with reckless abandon - will be susceptible to agile/reactive players in the NFL

Summary

Overall, Andrew Booth Jr. is a physical cornerback who can play zone or man coverage while being a very aggressive run support player. He’s physical at the line of scrimmage, understands offensive route concepts, and he’s a nuisance at the catch point for quarterbacks and wide receivers to deal with.

I appreciate his downhill nature. He’s not the cleanest with his transitions in and out of breaks with his momentum in full-gear down the field. His aggressiveness at the line of scrimmage may have to be tamed at the NFL, for it could be used against him against NFL receivers with their diverse release packages. Booth Jr. has first-round upside and should be a solid starting cornerback by Year 2.

GRADE: 6.49