Andrew Booth Jr.

Context

Outside CB, played both field & boundary, mostly in off-coverage.

Coverage

He’s not in a system that regularly displays his skills at the line of scrimmage but other aspects of his play confirm his aggression and competitive toughness and he displays it on the limited occasions he is asked to jam a receiver at the line of scrimmage. He has good hand placement and will get physical both at the LOS and throughout the route as much as he can in CFB. He can also disrupt at the LOS, effectively mixing his leverage. WRs that are more savvy with their hip movement and can match or better his lateral mobility/explosion, can attack his leverage – he is only susceptible when a WR attacks to the side he is leveraged, to widen and give themselves more cushion. The WR needs high-end acceleration to prevent him from recovering. He has outstanding foot speed/hip mobility which gives him the footwork he needs to match angles off the LOS.

When locked in man coverage, and not beaten off the line of scrimmage in the way already described, he is consistently in phase against all types of receivers, in all areas of the field. His mental processing and his athletic ability allow him to be successful, specifically his route recognition through reading the Wide Receiver’s movements and his lateral mobility, change of direction skills, foot speed and long speed, which are all very good. Very smooth in his backpedal, he is always balanced and with little wasted movement in his transitions. He has excellent hip mobility, as already mentioned, to react to breaks from the receiver in both his man and zone turns. When receivers break multiple times in a route – likely because of a scramble drill, he can turn the wrong way. His processing and change of direction allow him to play at a high level in zone coverage with excellent mental toughness to make good decisions when his zone is flooded and when having to make a play on third down.

He has good ball skills. He can track the ball on both short and deep passes, and can find the ball even with his back to the QB. He gets his hands to the ball but on short passes to the sideline he could improve his timing to disrupt the pass effectively.

Run Support and Tackling

His processing strength extends to his trigger vs the run and screens. He is aggressive and tough in his play against the run and in the screen game. He is a disciplined force player and routinely constricts running lanes. He is also quick to insert himself into run support situations and can disengage from blocks and make plays on the ball carrier with effort and desire.

His tackling is good and he gets all types of player to the ground. When he has had to disengage from a block, he can be a little desperate and make diving ankle tackles but he is remarkably consistent in executing these. He will get even far bigger runners to the ground and plays with a physical edge.  

SUMMARY
Scheme versatile starting outside CB with outstanding athleticism and processing that allow him to cover at a high level in man and zone. Physical run defender.

PRODUCTION
JR: 35 Total Tackles, 3 INTs, 3 PBUs
INJURY: “Nagging injuries” limit to 4 starts/11 games (SO)
Hamstring Strain (JR)

RAVENS FIT
Athleticism 5
Intelligence 5
Versatility 3
Grit 5
Scheme 4