The Minnesota Vikings may be rolling as a team right now, but the brutal nature of an NFL season is starting to take its toll. With Cameron Dantzler on Injured Reserve and Akayleb Evans out for this game, Minnesota finds itself reaching down its depth chart to fill their secondary this Sunday. One of the players pulled up is Andrew Booth Jr, a second-round rookie out of Clemson. Often, and especially at cornerback, rookies take quite a long time to adjust to the professional level. Heās had about three months, give or take, to prepare for his debut. What could we expect from this ātrial by fire?ā
All Credits Completed
Booth played in 13 games as a true freshman in 2019, but didnāt really do much of note. The next two years are what built his profile. As a sophomore the next year, heād start four of eleven games, tallying 27 tackles, two interceptions, a sack, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. That statline netted Booth second team All-ACC, and heād only get better in his last year in South Carolina. 37 tackles, three interceptions, and five passes defended snagged him first team All-ACC honors in his third and final season. In a 2022 Draft loaded with CB talent, Booth managed to slip to the second round. Unlike the majority of the other secondary players taken, Booth has taken a back seat on the team that spent an early pick on him.
Pressure Makes Diamonds (I Hope)
The regular track record of rookie corners starting Week 1 (outside of very rare examples, like Sauce Gardner this year) is most likely the reason the call was made to lower him on the depth chart. It didnāt sound like Booth Jr specifically performed poorly during training camp, and his college career doesnāt show him being unqualified/from a weak conference. With that all considered, Iām hoping he at least isnāt a glaring weak spot this Sunday. Iām always a very skeptical fan, so Iām not getting my hopes up that heāll light the field aflame. Even with that, I donāt think itās realistic to say heāll completely crumble. The ACC always brings the atmosphere so heās used to pressure, plus heās making his debut at a home game. If I had to make a guess at a statline, Iād say seven tackles and a pass breakup or two is more than fair. Patrick Peterson should serve as a really strong mentor, even during the game. I feel like heāll almost be an on-field coach with so many inexperienced players seeing the field. I mean, we saw Duke Shelley, a player we signed up from the practice squad the day before, make a game-changing pass breakup. Having a rock-solid presence in such an area of need for this team is going to play a massive part in not only this game, but for the regular and postseason upcoming. Itās all up to Booth, though, to prove his readiness at this level. He appeared sparsely throughout last weekās match against the Buffalo Bills, hopefully serving as an experience springboard. Weāll just have to see how the match shakes out for the rookieās first ever starter action in the NFL.