Morris Claiborne, LSU Cornerback: 5 Reasons He's a Top-5 Talent in NFL Draft

Quick, can you name the most underrated player in all of college football this past season?

Well, for starters, in order to be "underrated" you are deserving of more respect then what is allowed.

In Morris Claiborne's case, when playing in the same defensive backfield as Tyrann Mathieu, it can be difficult to grab the attention that he perhaps deserves.

Mathieu was the often-talked-about defensive back for LSU who stole all of the headlines during LSU's memorable 2011 season. But on the other half of the field, Claiborne was having a memorable season of his own.

Heading into the 2012 NFL draft, many experts have tagged Claiborne as a top-five NFL Pick, and rightfully so.

Let's break down five reasons why.

5. Ideal Size

Standing at 6'1" and 190 pounds, Claiborne has the ideal size for a starting cornerback at the NFL level.

NFL offenses are becoming more pass-happy, which was especially evident this season. When you look at the type of numbers put up by guys like Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford, you can see that having a solid cornerback is becoming crucial.

And having a cornerback with good size allows teams to defend against these dominant passers. Claiborne can get up in receivers face at the line of scrimmage and use his size to his advantage on deep throws.

Outside of Darrelle Revis, it's pretty rare to see a dominant cornerback standing less than six feet tall in the NFL any more.

4. Teams' Needs

The top five picks in the 2012 NFL draft are: 1. Colts 2. Rams 3. Vikings 4. Browns 5. Bucs

Outside of Cleveland, all of these team's featured terrible defensive secondaries in 2011.

Now, we can assume that Indianapolis will use that first pick on can't-miss quarterback prospect Andrew Luck. But after that, it is fair to say that any of these team's could select Morris Claiborne with their next pick.

Ideally, Claiborne would make a great fit with Minnesota, which featured the worst pass defense in the NFL last season.

Antoine Winfield is getting up there in age and is constantly battling injuries, while the rest of the group simply aren't worthy of starting in the NFL right now. Claiborne could come into this situation and be an immediate starter and the eventual successor to Winfield.

It sounds like an ideal fit for both Claiborne and the Vikings. 

3. Elite Speed

In order to be a successful cornerback in the NFL, you should probably have at least two of three qualities: good speed, good size, good coverage skills.

Claiborne has all three, but his elite speed might be the most important of the three.

It is no secret that the NFL is a pass-first league now. Quarterbacks are getting stronger and more accurate, while wide receivers are getting taller and faster. In order to have a chance at stopping the pass, you're team must have defensive backs who can match those receivers' speed.

Morris Claiborne has just that.

He has been clocked at 4.4 speed in the 40-yard dash and should run about that time at the NFL combine.

With that type of speed, in addition to his great size and cover skills, there should be no doubt that this kid is worthy of being a top-five pick in this year's NFL draft. 

2. Faced Talented Opposition

Not only has Morris Claiborne played in the SEC, which is traditionally known as the best conference in college football over the past decade, but he has also gone up against—and shut down—some of the top receivers in the nation who have played in that conference.

Claiborne and the Tigers went up against the likes of Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia this season, as well as Oregon. These are all teams that feature good passing games.

In the end, Claiborne got the best of every one of those team's top receiving options.

In order to be the best, you have to beat the best.

That is exactly what Claiborne and the LSU Tigers have done this year.

1. Best Defender in the Draft

If the old statement is true that "defense wins championships," then why wouldn't a team want to take the best defender in this year's NFL draft?

Claiborne is an elite cover corner who has an NFL-ready body, NFL-ready speed, and has dominanted the best competition that college football has to offer.

It's not often that you see an elite corner like this come out of college and be a top-five NFL prospect. So, while the opportunity is there, a team like St. Louis, Minnesota or Tampa Bay should go ahead and jump on it.

We all saw first-hand how good Joe Haden was this year for Cleveland. I think Claiborne is a bigger, faster and all-around better than Haden.

There is no question that Morris Claiborne is worthy of being a top-five pick in this year's NFL draft.