DE Adrian Clayborn ~ Iowa
Height – 6’3”
Weight – 281
40 yard dash (combine) – 4.81
Vertical leap (combine) – 33.0
Career Statistics
2007 – 19 tackles, 2 sacks
2008 – 50 tackles, 2 sacks
2009 – 63 tackles, 11 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 blocked punt, recovered and returned for a touchdown
2010 – 52 tackles, 4 sacks
Career accomplishments & awards
2010 First-Team All-American by Walter Camp & AFCA
2010 First-Team All-Big 10
2010 Orange Bowl MVP
2009 First-Team All-Big 10
2009 Third-Team All-American
My take
A lot of people have been down on Clayborn for reasons I don’t agree with. As a child Clayborn was diagnosed with Erb’s Palsy, which damaged the nerves around his shoulder. Clayborn underwent physical therapy and has obviously beaten the disease up until this point. He uses his hands and arms to shed blockers as good as anybody in this draft. Not only does Clayborn do a superb job against the run he has a relentless motor, which is a big reason I like him so much. At 280+ pounds he can easily play end in a 3-4, 4-3. or defensive tackle in passing situations. He lacks great speed off the edge but is a crafty pass rusher with several effective moves in his arsenal. It’s hard to get a read on what teams and scouts think about him, although I would not let him slip past if I was picking in the middle of the first round.