NFL Draft Film Breakdown: Clemson Cornerback Andrew Booth Is A Threat

• Fights through screens as if his life depended on it. He’s going to go all out on those plays to both beat the wide receiver’s block and make a tackle on opposing running backs. It can be a one man wrecking crew on these parts.

• He’s a very strong-willed running defender who wants to live in the backfield. He will stick his nose in the backfield to try and bring down the ball carrier whenever he has a tough action. He’s also a good tackler, especially for a cornerback.

• Booth has a very soft, low-to-the-ground coaster that he can use while playing out of cover. He keeps his shoulders square and proper cushion as he steps back, allowing him to read the quarterback and receiver. It also keeps him square with the receiver allowing him to move with him.

• He reacts extremely well to throwing the ball and instinctively closes in on opponents to make the tackle. He will steadily tackle the receiver with no extra yardage when high-low outside. This rapid change of direction and acceleration is a pleasure to see on the ground, especially since he has not passed athletic tests.

• Keeps a good cushion in press situations and does a great job blocking the receiver. He sticks the receiver and knocks them off their road timing with both a slip and then a jamming motion as well as an immediate jam.

• Booth has great ball skills to break passes into the receiver’s hands and catch the ball himself for interceptions.

• Booth tends to narrow his base a bit too much when covered in the press, making it difficult to react to fast routes.

• He tends to open his hips a little too early, making him susceptible to lanes pushing vertically before breaking.

• It can be too aggressive when playing cloud cover to the route below.

Booth should be an immediate starter and a positive contributor wherever he ends up going.

He needs to work on the men’s coverage aspects of his game, like keeping a broad base in the press and staying more patient and calm to the breaking point. He can bite a little on fakes and double moves, while opening up his hips a little early when the receiver threatens him vertically. Other than that, Booth has the desired athleticism and ball skills to become a glue trap in men’s coverage. He also does a solid job of maintaining his position hold and proper leverage when playing man cover to play towards his assist. He has long arms and good hand placement to eventually become a monster as a press cornerback.

On standard drop zone coverage, he did a great job playing bail or off and reading everything in front of him, although he didn’t seem to be loaded with much game coverage in the Clemson defense.

Booth’s coaster and ability to “click and close” really shines in rush coverage to quickly break up passes and stop the receiver before he starts or get his hand in the receiver’s hands to hit the ball. He has desirable ball skills at the cornerback position, which should translate well in the NFL.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how tough it is on screens and in the racing game. Sometimes he can be a little too aggressive, but overall that’s where his best contribution can come. Access RPOs against coverage are useless against him and he will punish bad blocks from wide receivers to tackle the ball carrier short of the sticks.

Schema adjustment

Booth should adopt a system that allows him to play aggressive, downhill football. He would be a threat in the Vic Fangio quarterback/half-quarterback/quarterback-quarterback system although he has the potential to fit just about anywhere. He may just need a little time to reach his maximum capacity in other defensive schemes.

Grade

Middle of the first round

Pro comparison

Vontae Davis