Vikings CB Andrew Booth Jr. to Make First Career Start vs. Cowboys

For the second consecutive week, a Vikings rookie cornerback will make their first NFL start against an explosive offense.

Last week, it was fourth-rounder Akayleb Evans in Buffalo. He was replacing Cameron Dantzler, who injured his ankle midway through the previous game in Washington and wound up on IR. Evans forced a fumble in that Bills game, but suffered a concussion that forced to him to leave the game and will keep him out of Sunday's game against the Cowboys.

That means it's Andrew Booth Jr.'s time to shine. The second-rounder out of Clemson will make his first career start against Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, and the Cowboys at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Like Evans, Booth got his first extended game reps when the cornerback in front of him went down. Booth was thrust into action against the Bills when Evans got hurt and saw a lot of Stefon Diggs, which is an awfully tough way to be thrown into the fire. Booth struggled enough that the Vikings put veteran Duke Shelley — freshly signed off the practice squad — into the game in overtime. They were rewarded for that decision when Shelley made a game-saving pass breakup in the end zone, one play before Patrick Peterson's game-winning interception.

"We have Andrew Booth ready to go, he had a good week of practice," head coach Kevin O'Connell said. "Duke got some reps in there as well, so we just want to make sure, regardless of the situation, that both those guys are ready to go. But expecting Andrew to start the game and feeling really good about his week of prep."

The Vikings traded up in the second round of April's draft to select Booth 42nd overall. He had the skill set and athleticism of a first-round pick at the position, but significant injury concerns caused him to fall to the second. Injuries have held Booth back at times throughout his rookie year, resulting in Evans climbing past him on the depth chart. Still, you could see Booth's physical abilities and his supreme confidence during training camp, when he made some impressive plays and let everyone around him hear about it.

Now he'll be put to the test in a huge game against the Cowboys. O'Connell believes he's ready.

"Just a daily progression of maximizing his time on prep, getting extra time with the coaches, just continuing to gain the confidence by understanding our scheme, the techniques, the fundamentals, how he can play off of some of the other guys on the back end," O'Connell said. "We've got great communicators at the safety spot, (Eric Kendricks) wearing the green dot (at linebacker) has been really, really good for our whole defense.

"It's going to be a challenge because I expect it to be really loud on Sunday. We love the fact that it stresses the offensive teams that come into U.S. Bank Stadium, but we practice constantly with noise for that defense. For the exact reasons that it gives the offense a hard time, it can be hard to communicate ourselves sometimes. So just knowing what to do, knowing what the call is, and then allowing his confidence and his physical skill set to show up snap in and snap out."

It's possible the Vikings will have a somewhat short leash with Booth if he struggles, given the importance of this game. Shelley would be next in line to see the field, while special teams ace Kris Boyd could also be an option. We'll see if the Vikings decide to elevate a practice squad cornerback like Parry Nickerson or Tay Gowan as well.

Booth's first career start will be a big thing to watch in this game. If he plays well, it could go a long way towards helping the Vikings win their eighth in a row.

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