Player: Andrew Booth

School: Clemson

Height and Weight: 6’, 194

Combine Results:

• 40: DNP
• Bench: DNP
• Broad Jump: DNP
• Vertical Jump: DNP
• 3 Cone: DNP
• Other Notes: Booth did not participate at the combine due to a hamstring injury. Booth also did not participate at Clemson’s pro day and from what I’ve read will be getting a core muscle surgery at some point soon, if it hasn’t happened already. Lack of testing could have Booth falling this year.

Strengths: Physical against blocks, tries to make plays in the run game, zone coverage, athleticism

Weaknesses: Lacks physicality in coverage, not a great tackler 

Projected Draft Day: Day1/Day 2

Player Comparison: Avonte Maddox

Player Summary: I’ve heard Booth was supposed to be a top three cornerback and for some is even talked about at the same level as Stingley and Sauce, and I just do not see it. One of the first issues I noticed is that I don’t even think Booth is the number one cornerback on his own team. When I was watching film of Booth he would just disappear at random times and I’d be sitting there trying to look for someone not on the field. It seems as though Clemson had packages in which Booth wasn’t in, which makes me think he wasn’t the best on his team. 

Booth comes from what seems to be a zone-heavy defensive scheme at Clemson. Booth showed a balance of good and bad in his film. Booth showed that zone is his bread and butter coverage and seemed very knowledgeable and aware of the coverage and his particular zone. My issue is that Booth seems to typically play somewhere between 4-7 yards off the receiver and his first step was always backwards. If he was not playing off, his first move would be to bail backwards out of press; sometimes even before the ball was snapped. It seems like Booth is afraid of getting burned or something. The biggest issue I saw with him bailing was that he was leaving the underneath zone(s) wide open for things like hitches, which is perfectly fine, but you need to be able to make the tackle. Booth was unable to make the tackle in most cases and it led to big gains for their opponents.

When Booth was in press alignment and didn’t bail, he wouldn’t actually press or be physical. There were times where he wouldn’t touch the receiver at all. Booth actually looked like an okay man coverage corner and if he played more man than I saw in my study, maybe I would have a better opinion of him. Due to the fact that he is a primarily zone-scheme corner I feel like his man coverage abilities could get exploited when he heads into the league.

A huge plus about Booth is that although he is not physical when he’s in coverage, he gets very physical when it comes to being blocked on run plays. I saw multiple times where he threw a receiver to go try to make a play in the box on a run play. Clemson also liked to blitz Booth, which in my opinion is an interesting note. Overall, I see Booth being drafted on Day 2 of the draft to a team who runs a zone blitzing scheme, maybe someone like Baltimore who is coming off an injury riddled 2021, where most of their second got hurt. If Booth is to find playing time as a rookie, I think it would have to be as a CB 3 or 4, or as a package player. Booth isn’t the worst option, but he isn’t a guy I would want being my CB 1 or 2 right off the bat.

The thing about Booth that popped for me is his athleticism. I watched some highlight films of him, and some of the interceptions and pass breakups he makes are pretty wild. It could mean that there’s big upside with Booth with the right coaching. I’m still unsure if his athleticism alone could make him a first round pick though; I personally just wasn’t impressed with his film. It is upsetting that he didn’t compete at his pro day or the combine because I would’ve loved to have seen his test numbers. 

I compared Booth to Avonte Maddox, but like a slightly bigger version of Avonte Maddox with higher upisde. Maddox is a pretty average cornerback who plays typically the CB 3 role for the Eagles, sometimes CB 2 depending on injuries, but isn’t pressured into covering any of the big names all that often. When he does though it could be an issue(ex. Maddox vs Evans in the playoffs). Also, Maddox was interestingly blitzed quite a few times this season. I could see Booth stepping into a similar CB 3 role where he plays a little bit of outside and a little bit of nickel, and can perform at a good level in coverage and as a run defender, as well as an occasional blitzer.