Vikings Rookie CB Andrew Booth Jr. Getting 'Really Close' to Being Medically Cleared
The only member of the Vikings' ten-man 2022 draft class who didn't fully participate in Friday's rookie minicamp practice was second-round pick Andrew Booth Jr., a high-upside cornerback out of Clemson.
Booth is a first-round talent whose lengthy medical history caused him to fall to the second round. If he stays healthy, he has a chance to be one of the biggest steals of this year's draft.
But Booth's journey towards potentially earning a starting spot as a rookie hasn't begun just yet. He didn't have a helmet and was mostly watching on Friday as he continues to recover from pre-draft sports hernia surgery. Booth played through the hernia issue for most of his college career, and he believes he can be even better in the NFL if he finally gets to be at 100 percent health.
"He’s close," head coach Kevin O'Connell said. "He’s really close. We just wanted to make sure we get him here, get [Executive Director of Player Health and Performance] Tyler [Williams] and Uriah [Myrie], get their eyes on him and see exactly where he’s at and then ultimately get him going little by little. He’s a guy we’re counting on, so we want to make sure when the time is right he physically feels great, but that doesn’t mean we can’t stress him above the neck right now to see where he’s at. … It’s fun for me to cruise around to both sides of the ball on offense and defense. He was one of those guys to have competitive banter with, knowing he’s not out there. Whenever we threw a completion on those guys, he heard it from me."
Booth says he hopes to gain medical clearance in a couple weeks, perhaps before the end of OTAs. Based on that timeline, he should at least be completely ready to go when training camp begins at the end of July and into August. Once healthy, Booth will compete with Cameron Dantzler for a starting spot at outside cornerback opposite Patrick Peterson.
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