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Andrew Booth is the One Prospect Steelers Can't Pass On in NFL Draft

The Pittsburgh Steelers could get a steal at pick 20.

Derrick Bell

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The NFL Draft cycle is now winding down as we are now just weeks away from Roger Goodell being booed by everyone in attendance. We've spent months discussing possibilities on who the Pittsburgh Steelers could select in the first round. The most popular question that I get asked on Twitter is usually "who is the prospect that the Steelers just cannot afford to pass on if they're available at pick 20?" After months of evaluating countless prospects, the answer to that question is pretty apparent in my eyes. 

It's Andrew Booth.

While I wanted to ensure due diligence by scouting as many players as possible before the NFL Draft took place, this was a conclusion that I've had for a while now. During the summer of 2021, I began looking at most of the consensus top 50 draft eligible players for the class. I watched all of the top corners - Sauce Gardner, Derek Stingley Jr. and Kaiir Elam to name a few. I came away thinking that even in limited reps, Booth had the chance to be the best of the bunch. 

An unpopular opinion at the time but I had him slotted at CB1 entering the season and he reaffirmed my belief in him with his play during his final season at Clemson. 

In 11 games for the Tigers, he allowed 29 catches, 326 yards, two touchdowns while also picking off three passes for a passer rating of 70, per Pro Football Focus.

So what makes Booth such an intriguing prospect? 

It all starts with his incredible athletic profile. Standing at 6-foot-2, 194-pounds with 31.5 inch arms, Booth checks all of the boxes for what NFL teams are looking for in a boundary cornerback. 

In addition to his size, Booth is a fantastic athlete for the position. He has blazing straight-line speed to run with even the fastest receivers. He possesses loose hips and he's able to flip and turn without losing much speed, showcasing his fluidity. His change of direction ability is excellent and particularly admirable when clicking and closing from his backpedal.

Booth has nice size for the position but he plays bigger than what he measures in at. A very high energy player that flies around the football field. He doesn't back down in contested catch situations against bigger receivers. He can climb the ladder to get his hand on the football. 

Against the run, Booth does a fantastic job diagnosing plays before they even begin to happen. He understands responsibilities in setting the edge and crack/replace situations. He will willingly shoot gaps on screens and try to defeat tacklers, adding himself to the mix of almost every play.

 In order to play cornerback for the Steelers, you must tackle and tackling is something that Booth clearly takes a lot of pride in.

All of those things above are what Booth bring to the table, but his two best attributes that he brings to the table are his feet and his playmaking ability.

Booth possesses quick, typewriter-like footwork that he can lean on in press coverage. He prefers to deploy a motor-mirror technique when working at the line of scrimmage and has some teach-tape worthy reps on his film. 

His footwork is especially clean as he doesn't have much wasted motion, leading to an impressive backpedal. This is important because his footwork allows him to stay square to receivers longer throughout the receivers release, negating the need to open the gate too early.

Very rarely do you see a cornerback that has the ball skills to where you feel very confident in their ability to win those one-on-one contested catch situations with top-tier wide receivers. This is what sets Booth apart. Booth is physical at the catch point but has an unbelievable vertical jump where he seemingly floats in the air. This unique ability to play the ball at its highest point has lead to some highlight worthy interceptions in college.

At Clemson, Booth played in a zone heavy scheme but some of his best reps came in man coverage. Brent Venables' defense is extremely complex and asks a lot of its players from a mental capacity standpoint as he tries to be multiple in combatting opposing offenses. 

Despite being one of the best defensive backs in the entire class, Booth still has plenty of things to work on in order to improve on his weaknesses. Because he plays with so much energy, he can often times be out of control when working downhill for tackles. There are flashes of impressive, high IQ reps where he baits quarterbacks but he could stand to be more consistent with his spacing when working in zone coverage and just more aware of route concepts behind him.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have given a lot of attention to the quarterbacks in this class which can be expected when trying to replace an 18-year, future Hall of Famer in Ben Roethlisberger. After all, there is no debate that quarterback is the game's most important position. However, not only is Booth more "safe" than the quarterbacks in this class, I would also be willing to bet on him hitting his ceiling. 

A ceiling that could entail Booth morphing into a premiere CB1 in todays NFL.

Booth has the potential to give the Steelers something that they haven't had since the early 2010s in Ike Taylor: a true shutdown cornerback on the boundary. The type of player that you can put on Ja'Marr Chase in man coverage and feel confident that he's going to hold his own. 

It's a shame that Booth has been unable to participate in any testing drills during the pre-draft process due to injuring his hamstring days before the NFL combine. He was unable to go during his Pro Day due to a minor core muscle injury that required surgery. With him unable to show off his athleticism, it seems like he's falling down boards which is unfortunate for a player of his caliber. However, the Steelers could be the real winners in this situation as they could have the opportunity to nab one of the best players in the class at pick 20.

With the exception of drafting Artie Burns in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, Pittsburgh has avoided investing much draft capital in the position. It's no secret that Kevin Colbert has struggled to find value at the cornerback spot later in the weekend while Tomlin's staffs haven't done a great job developing talent either. 

This is a different situation as Booth is much more ready to play from day one with a higher ceiling due to his traits. Making an investment at one of the games most important positions in a passing league would be a wise decision for Kevin Colbert in his final Draft. 

The 21-year old Booth is an elite athlete at a premier position with good film in a power five conference. All of which simply makes him too good of a value to pass up. 

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Derrick Bell
DERRICK BELL

Derrick Bell is a University of Louisville grad who's covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2019. Prior to AllSteelers, Derrick contributed to Steel City Blitz. 

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