Positives -- The clear top corner in this draft, there is no debate about it... Listed at six foot but plays much bigger... Extremely physical at the line of scrimmage with both his body and hands... Is a true cover corner and has been touted as a better corner than Patrick Peterson... Great speed and fluid hips allows Claiborne to keep up with elite receivers... Starting number one corner for the number two total and scoring defense in the country... Faced some of the toughest receiving talent in the country on a weekly basis in the SEC... Possesses the ability to be an elite lockdown corner at the next level against elite NFL receivers... Excellent ability to recover and defend against tight throws... Can handle elite talent without safety help over the top... Takes great angles to the ball and maintains leverage against bigger receivers... A sound tackler and willing to play inside the box to bring down running backs... Maintains extremely close coverage forcing quarterbacks to throw to other receivers... Consistent producer at the highest level of college football... Has the speed and intelligence to bait quarterbacks into making throws he can make plays on... Has great big play ability that will translate to the professional level.
Negatives -- Can be over aggressive at times and will get beat over the top... Has adequate size but can be taken out of plays by above average blockers... Does not have the special teams return ability showcased by Patrick Peterson or Tyron Mathieu... Can be caught staring into the backfield at times or looking to make the big play... Does not always display consistent hands. At Louisiana State -- (Official School Bio) One of the nation's elite cornerbacks, called by many as the best cornerback in the SEC in 2011... Tremendous speed with shutdown skills and size... Teamed with Patrick Peterson as a sophomore to form one of the nation's best corner tandems and arguably the best tandem in school history... Recognized as a unanimous First-Team All-America selection, receiving first team honors from the AFCA Coaches', Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, The Sporting News and Walter Camp Foundation... Captured the Jim Thorpe Award that goes to the nation's top defensive back, marking the second-straight season LSU has won the award after Patrick Peterson won in 2010... Has started 25 games in his career at cornerback... Has handled kickoff return duties for the Tigers... In 32 career games, he has notched 90 tackles, 12 pass breakups and 11 interceptions... Tied for seventh for most interceptions in a single season with six and ranks sixth in LSU history with 11 career INTs, tying Greg Jackson (1985-88), Tory James (1992-95) and Craig Steltz (2004-07)... His 173 interception return yards this season ranks third in a single season at LSU, and the 274 career return yards is second most in school history, only trailing Craig Steltz's 286. 2011: Started all 13 games... Leads the nation in interception return yards with 173... Ranks second in the SEC and ninth nationally with six INTs... Ranks fourth in the SEC in kickoff return average at 26.1 yards a return... Recorded an interception for the second-straight game against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game and returned the interception 45 yards for a touchdown.