Whoever takes Clemson cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. at the 2022 NFL Draft next month may have to wait a bit before they can see their newest prospect on the field. The 21-year-old recently underwent sports hernia surgery, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Booth had the procedure done in Philadelphia and is expected to be ready for the start of training camp. He didn't go through drills at the NFL Scouting Combine, citing a quad injury.
While this injury may alter Booth's ability to be on the field throughout the early stages of the offseason program, the fact that he's expected to be ready for training camp suggests that his rookie season won't be impacted much by this injury.
Booth is currently CBS Sports' third-ranked corner prospect in this draft class and the 16th-ranked prospect overall. Only Derek Stingley Jr. out of LSU and Cincinnati's Ahmad Gardner are above him in the rankings, and Booth is widely projected to come off the board in the first round. In his latest mock draft, CBS Sports Senior NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson has Booth landing with the New England Patriots, who own the No. 21 overall pick.
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"Andrew Booth had a strong '21 season for Clemson and he's only going to get better with experience," writes Wilson. "The Patriots lost J.C. Jackson to the Chargers and they'll need to upgrade their secondary this offseason, something they didn't do during the first week of free agency."
During his final collegiate season at Clemson, Booth totaled 37 tackles, three interceptions, and five pass breakups in 11 games played.
