Adrian Clayborn Scouting Report

Iowa Hawkeyes defensive end Adrian Clayborn is a 2011 NFL Draft prospect that has slipped on most draft boards due to an underwhelming senior season, but he still remains amongst the best in this draft class.

Clayborn has impressive size and is athletic for his position. He doesn't necessarily have a glaring weakness to his game, but no defining attribute that jumps out either. He needs to improve his first step, but once he gets moving he is disruptive. Against the run, he does well making tackles, taking good pursuit angles and shows a good motor. He is strong and likes to bull rush in order to collapse the pocket.

But if a blocker is stronger than him, he can tend to succumb to them and abandon his fundamentals. This is a part of him playing too aggressively. He will need to improve his awareness and learn to stick to his assignment. Sometimes his pass rush can take him out of a play. Late in games, he will be fatigued because he burnt out his energy early in the game.

Clayborn did have an impressive junior season with 11.5 sacks, but that number dropped to 3.5 this past season. He needs to re-establish his positives at the Combine: strength, versatility and tenacity. Entering this college football season, he was a player widely considered to be a top-10 prospect in this draft, but that is no longer the case.

Clayborn was a 2010 consensus All-American.

At the 2011 NFL Combine, Clayborn ran a 4.83 40-yard dash, 33" vertical and 9'5" broad jump.

Clayborn projects as a mid- to late-first round selection in the 2011 NFL Draft.