Andrew Booth Jr. is Officially a Bust

The Minnesota Vikings took Andrew Booth Jr. in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The hope was that they were getting good value on a future starter. Much like what we’ve seen from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s first ever draft pick, Lewis Cine, things have gone sideways for Booth Jr, as well.

Andrew Booth Jr.’s end with Minnesota Vikings seems near

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah took over as the Minnesota Vikings general manager and got to work on his first draft. He selected Georgia safety Lewis Cine with his first pick. Andrew Booth Jr. then became pick number two.

The Clemson cornerback had dealt with injuries, but the upside seemed immense. Alec Lewis, Vikings beat writer for The Athletic, seems to believe the end is near.

Booth is healthy but he has rarely played. Duke Shelley, Ward and McGlothern have taken most of the snaps with the No. 2 defense. A.J. Green III and 2023 undrafted cornerback Jaylin Williams have earned as many — if not more — reps than Booth. Similar to Cine, the Vikings would be dinged about $1.7 million by cutting him, but that’s a minor tax to hang onto someone like Murphy or McGlothern who could become major contributors.

Alec Lewis on Andrew Booth Jr. during training camp

Related: Vikings’ Cornerback Might Have Cringiest Interview in Team History

Both Booth Jr. and the Minnesota Vikings hoped for a better outcome. The talented corner had opportunity to bolster a position group that needed it for 2024. He seemed to miss that memo though. Really, it has just been a failure to launch.

Andrew Booth Jr. would leave nothing with Minnesota Vikings

Similar to his time in college, Andrew Booth Jr. struggled to stay healthy. When he was, it resulted in a whopping 23 games and just two starts over two seasons. Booth Jr. has recorded only 20 tackles and one pass defensed during his time in the NFL. After recording snaps on defense 25% of the time as a rookie, Booth Jr. was on the field only 13% of the time last year.

Andrew Booth is getting picked on man 😭 pic.twitter.com/hxd82IPcWr

— 𝙆𝙖𝙨𝙚 (@verysadvikings) July 27, 2024

The Vikings competitive rebuild seems to be in a much better place than it was headed. That is largely due to better personnel decisions than those made out of the gate for Adofo-Mensah. Both Cine and Booth Jr. have gone down as massive misses, and they could be jettisoned during this same period.

Related: Intense Punter Competition Emerges at Minnesota Vikings Training Camp