Booth happy to be a Viking, knows he was easy to like but hard to love |
Andrew Booth feels like he was easy to like but hard to love. The Minnesota Vikings were the ones to fall in love, drafting Booth on day two of the NFL Draft.
Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah kept trading during Friday's second round, moving up in a deal with the Indianapolis Colts to select Booth, the former Clemson cornerback, with the 42nd overall pick. The Vikings moved up 11 spots, from the 53rd pick, in the second round to further bolster their secondary by drafting Booth, a former 5-star recruit who played three years for the Tigers. In 2020, he suffered a right patellar tendon tear that required surgery to repair. He also suffered a thigh bruise, a hamstring strain and a stinger that caused him to miss one game each. Recently, Booth suffered a quadriceps strain that caused him to skip on-field drills at the NFL scouting combine and Clemson’s Pro Day. In March, he had surgery for a sports hernia. Booth knew NFL teams had questions about his health, making him easy to like but hard to love. “It’s been crazy, but I went into it understanding that everything is about perspective. From the teams’ perspective, I made it kind of hard – I didn’t do Pro Day and I didn’t do the Combine so I made it hard on everybody,” Booth said. “Everybody really, really liked me but I was hard to love. I am more healthy than the guy that’s on tape. Ten times better than the cat that’s on tape. But I am super excited to be a Viking.” Booth said he was thrilled to get the call from the Vikings. “I am super excited. This is a lifetime dream. This is kind of out of body for me, because like I said, this is a lifetime dream,” he said. “I am just ready to play the game I love again at the highest level with great health. This is the best I’ve felt in a long time. I am ready to put the pads on and get to it.” Booth was asked if he feels like he can earn a starting spot. “Absolutely,” he said. “I just feel like I’m that guy. A lot of people have their own perspective on it or whatever, but I’m going to come in, work hard, and that’s just what it is. … I’m going to have to come in, work hard and earn that starting spot.” Ryan Grigson, the Vikings’ Senior Personnel Director, said Booth should hit the ground running. “Of course, we wanted to get him because he brings a lot to the table,” Grigson said. “His competitiveness. His size. He plays at a high level, and he played for a really good program, like our last pick So, he can hit the ground running in a lot of ways, as a pro. He was the guy we wanted, and it was nice that Kwesi, Rob and the group were able to maneuver and work the board and get trade back value and move back into the pick when we found our target. He’s got length. He has good hips. He can turn the ball over. He has really good ball skills.” Grigson said the Vikings didn’t have any concerns about Booth’s injury history. “It looks like he should have a fine recovery,” Grigson said. “A lot of guys get the same surgery and always have positive results. Same surgeon and all that kind of stuff. He is going to be fine. He is a tough, tough kid.” Vikings add to the secondary by drafting CB Andrew Booth with the 42nd pick! pic.twitter.com/Ha8sko7oqn We traded up to get @andrewbooth21 for a reason. pic.twitter.com/41Ajr88YTQ #Vikings baby ????@andrewbooth21 .@andrewbooth21 enters the NFL with a chip on his shoulder.
??: @ClemsonFB pic.twitter.com/jBPm9UCd9c
I talked with him about what tonight means and how he's going to use it as motivation moving forward.
??: https://t.co/SvuWPeVheL pic.twitter.com/p7G4hmKD17
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