Revisiting the 2012 draft Morris Claiborne vs. Mark Barron

In the 2012 draft Dallas did something they have done in a while, trade inside the top 10 in order to get a draft pick.

When the news broke I knew for sure that Dallas was going to grab up Alabama safety. Instead Dallas picked up LSU corner back. Either pick would have been a good one (at the time) as Dallas' secondary was getting burned. Dallas signed CB Brandon Carr so I felt that going at a safety during the first round of the draft would be key. Mark Baron played and won National Champions even one playing against Claiborne's LSU Tigers. Morris Claiborne possibly had a draft boost as in the previous draft LSU's Patrick Peterson went #5 playing the same position as Claiborne.

Quick profile of Barron

At 6'2", 213 pounds, Barron had a 40 yard dash of 4.56 seconds. Barron has the type of size and strength that gives him the rare physical advantage against many wide receivers. He is not content to simply drop into coverage and play the ball, instead playing a physical brand of football and delivering devastating hits to opponents.

WEAKNESSES: Barron has a tendency to get lazy with his backpedal and hesitates in transition due to his size, but this does not effect him often. Barron, at times will launch himself at times into the ball carrier, which positions his tackles from bad angles. 

So what do the numbers say?

College

Barron posted 5 sacks, 149 tackles, 12 interceptions during his 3 year career at Alabama. 

NFL

Barron had 88 tackles 1 interception and a forces fumble in his rookie season. Lets also remember that cornerbacks have a better chance to get interceptions versus a safety. This year (2013) Barron has 88 tackles, 2 interceptions, 2 sacks and a fumble (forced) recovery in only 14 games.

Quick profile on Morris Claiborne

At 5'11", 188 pounds Claiborne is a fast cornerback clocking a 4.50 40 yard dash time in 2012. Ranking him with a top ten 40 time throughout the cornerback class. As a zone defender, he is simply an explosive athlete with length and can keep plays in front of him and react quick enough to meet the man at the ball. Claiborne is an aggressive cover man who likes to use his tall frame and long arms to get up in the face of receivers and shock them at the line of scrimmage to disrupt timing. 

WEAKNESSES Claiborne is such a gifted athlete that he can often times get lazy in his technique. Working in off-man coverage, he has a tendency to get his pad level high in his back pedal and delude the explosiveness that makes him so effective out of his breaks.Claiborne also doesn't tackle particularly well.

So what do the numbers say?

College

At LSU, Claiborne had 2 sacks, 95 tackles, 12 pass breakups and 11 interceptions.

NFL

Claiborne in his rookie season Claiborne had 55 tackles, 1 interception, no sacks, a forced fumble, fumble return, and a touchdown. This year (2013) Claiborne has only played in 10 games (starting 7) and has accumulated 1 interception, a fumble recovery, no sacks and only 24 tackles

These 2 players may play different positions but both are not playing up to the draft position that they were chosen at. With Claiborne's injury history as of late. Missing 7 out of 16 this year (including 4 pre-season games). Also missing only game last year but missing two games during the pre-season. His progress may be stalled due to lack of in game time which is needed for a young player. It's easy to say that Dallas got a bad player in the draft. As Barron has only missed 2 games. We're not ready to call him a bust as CB's Darrelle Revis and Richard Sherman did not come into lock-down type of players until their 3rd season. 

Another thing that dramatically helps Barron is the people around him and in front of him. Barron plays with Darrelle Revis and Dashon Goldson. Players who have been to pro bowls. Barron also has Gerald McCoy on the front line who is also a pro bowler. Even though Claiborne had Jay Ratliff and DeMarcus Ware in front of him as pro bowlers. No one from the Cowboys defense has made it to Honolulu this year. 

As I've said not only cornerbacks but most players in the NFL take 3 years to start showing their full potential. I would love to say this comparison is too close to call. Nevertheless with 2 seasons under their belts. Barron is up on Claiborne by a small margin. Barron has 179 total tackles and 3 interceptions in his career compared to Claiborne's 79 tackles and 2 interceptions. The better draft pick stat wise goes to Barron out of the two from the 2012 draft. Next year the jury should be out to see if Claiborne can make the jump to shut down corner. Or will Dallas be stuck with another injury prone underachieving athlete in the defensive backfield as was Terrance Newman, Roy Williams and Mike Jenkins.