Clemson’s Andrew Booth Jr. has some pretty interceptions on his highlight tape.
There’s a one-handed pickoff on a fade pass to the side of the end zone against Virginia last season. There’s a leaping, high-point grab on a deep post pass at the goal line against South Carolina.
“I feel like when the ball is in the air, it’s mine,” Booth said at the NFL scouting combine. “I’m the only one who can come down with it.”
Asked what makes him the best cornerback in the draft – a question frequently posed to top prospects – Booth said: “I’m just ferocious. I feel like when it’s time to attack, I’m there.”
Booth plays the game with an obvious sense of urgency. He goes after it – whether it’s the ball or the ball-carrier. His on-field demeanor is an asset that makes him a first-round prospect in the 2022 NFL draft.
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Booth, 21, is among the top candidates to be picked Thursday by the Buffalo Bills at No. 25 overall – if he lasts that long. He would fill the Bills’ big need at cornerback.
Booth is 6-foot and 194 pounds with slightly above average arm length at 31½ inches. He did not run the 40-yard dash before the draft because he’s recovering after undergoing core muscle surgery in March. However, he has top athletic traits. He has quick feet and a fast closing burst. He might have the best ball skills among corners in the draft class.
“He has good size, not elite, but good size, and he’s really athletic,” ESPN analyst Todd McShay said. “The thing I like about him is he can play press-man, he can play off-man, he can play zone. He really is scheme versatile. He allows you to be multiple in terms of what you’re trying to do in the secondary.”
Booth is particularly good in off coverage in zones, coming up and making plays on the ball. Clemson plays a zone-heavy defense. That’s a fit for the Bills’ defense. He would give the Bills two high-end athletes on the boundaries of the defense, joining Tre’Davious White as a starting cornerback.
“Coach V, he threw the whole kitchen sink at us,” Booth said of Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables. “We did everything. I’m pretty comfortable whatever is called, whatever I have to do.”
Here is how The Buffalo News would grade each of the picks from Brandon Beane’s 2019 class – his second as the Buffalo Bills’ general manager
Booth is not as fully developed a prospect as White was when the Bills made him the 27th overall pick in 2017. White made 47 career college starts. Booth has played in 35 games, but has started only 15.
ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. wanted more after watching Booth in 2021 and says No. 25 overall might be too high for him.
“Andrew Booth Jr. did not have a great year at Clemson,” Kiper said. “I thought he could be a top-15 pick. He didn’t play like it. ... He had some struggling moments. He’s not a guy I’d take that high.”
Cornerback is the biggest need position for the Bills, and it’s a prime option for them with the 25th overall pick – if a corner they love is available.
Booth played about 40% of the defensive snaps in 2020 before taking over as a full-timer last season. He said he learned a lot in 2021, from good games and bad. He gave up two TD passes last season, both in a double-overtime loss to North Carolina State on Sept. 25.
“I learned – not that I went in underestimating anybody – but you’ve just gotta be on it every play,” Booth said. “Which I am, I try to have that tenacity every play. But it happens to the best. I know the type of player I am.”
While Booth plays tough and is a willing tackler. He needs to play more under control at times vs. the run. Pro Football Focus gave him a missed tackle rate of 24%, way more than the position average.
Asked what it would mean to join a Bills secondary that includes White, Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde, Booth said: “That would be big ups. Those guys are really doing it at the position. To learn from them and get the swag they bring to the game, just to build my intelligence and my skills for the game.”
