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UDFA CB Claiborne looking to earn job with Rams
By Nate Latsch
http://stl.scout.com/story/1548776-...s?hootPostID=e978bd746bdc1894db7b44d1e875b8b0
Imoan Claiborne thought he showed enough during the draft evaluation process to hear his name called at some point during the seven rounds of the 2015 NFL Draft. But that didn’t come to fruition for the cornerback from Northwestern State in Louisiana.
“I most definitely thought I’d get drafted,” Claiborne said. “Obviously I went to the Senior Bowl, I did some other things. I felt like I set myself up very well through the draft process, but unfortunately I didn’t. But this opportunity presents itself and that’s all I can do.”
His new opportunity comes after signing an undrafted free agent contract with the St. Louis Rams, where he’ll compete for a spot on the roster with a position group that offers some intrigue this season.
“Through the whole end of the draft, when teams were calling back and forth, I just tried to narrow it down to the best teams I thought fit me and this is where I ended up,” Claiborne said.
The 5-foot-10, 193-pounder said several teams were interested in signing him after the draft. But he settled on St. Louis for a couple different reasons, including the defensive system.
“Most of all I felt confident in the coaches,” he said. “They have a great coaching staff here. They told me I had the opportunity to come here and compete and that’s all I could ask for.”
The Rams currently have eight cornerbacks on the 90-man offseason roster and several of those spots should be secure to make the roster at the conclusion of training camp.
Janoris Jenkins, E.J. Gaines and Trumaine Johnson are expected to compete for the two starting cornerback spots on the outside. Lamarcus Joyner, the Rams’ second-round pick a year ago, was drafted to man the nickel cornerback spot inside, though those plans didn’t quite work out during his rookie season because of injury and ineffectiveness. Marcus Roberson made the roster as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2014 after leaving Florida early.
Those five players are good bets to make the roster again this fall.
But that could leave an opening or two for another cornerback.
Brandon McGee was a fifth-round pick in 2013 but was limited to just two games in his second season because of injuries. Montrell Garner is another UDFA rookie, like Claiborne, out of South Alabama.
Claiborne comes to the Rams with some solid credentials.
He was a two-year starter at Northwestern State and earned All-Southland first-team honors as a senior after setting career highs in tackles (47), passes defended (11) and interceptions (four).
At his pro day, Claiborne ran the 40-yard dash in 4.56 and 4.59 seconds. He recorded a vertical leap of 39 inches and a broad jump of 10 feet. He put up 13 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press.
NFL.com projected Claiborne as a third- or fourth-round pick and raised the possibility that he could move from cornerback to safety at the next level.
“Confident, ascending press-cover cornerback with the foot quickness and hips to match receivers off the line of scrimmage and in tight quarters,” the NFL.com scouting report said. “He's a willing tackler with decent recovery burst, but his questionable long speed and lack of premium size could turn him into a solid slot corner in the league.”
Claiborne received a seventh-round grade from Dane Brugler of NFLDraftScout.com, who rated him as the 34th-best cornerback prospect in the draft.
“Claiborne lined up mostly in press coverage and was asked to jam and bail, but did his best work when he played nose-to-nose at the line of scrimmage and used his length and aggression to disrupt receivers,” Brugler wrote in his scouting report. “While he can locate quickly with ball skills when he turns, he still doesn’t have a great feel at the position downfield and will need to make a living on special teams while he develops on defense.”
That could be Claiborne’s ticket to winning a spot on the Rams’ roster, just like Roberson did a year ago.
With Jenkins and Johnson entering the final year of their rookie contracts, the Rams should be watching the cornerback position closely during OTAs and training camp.
By Nate Latsch
http://stl.scout.com/story/1548776-...s?hootPostID=e978bd746bdc1894db7b44d1e875b8b0
Imoan Claiborne thought he showed enough during the draft evaluation process to hear his name called at some point during the seven rounds of the 2015 NFL Draft. But that didn’t come to fruition for the cornerback from Northwestern State in Louisiana.
“I most definitely thought I’d get drafted,” Claiborne said. “Obviously I went to the Senior Bowl, I did some other things. I felt like I set myself up very well through the draft process, but unfortunately I didn’t. But this opportunity presents itself and that’s all I can do.”
His new opportunity comes after signing an undrafted free agent contract with the St. Louis Rams, where he’ll compete for a spot on the roster with a position group that offers some intrigue this season.
“Through the whole end of the draft, when teams were calling back and forth, I just tried to narrow it down to the best teams I thought fit me and this is where I ended up,” Claiborne said.
The 5-foot-10, 193-pounder said several teams were interested in signing him after the draft. But he settled on St. Louis for a couple different reasons, including the defensive system.
“Most of all I felt confident in the coaches,” he said. “They have a great coaching staff here. They told me I had the opportunity to come here and compete and that’s all I could ask for.”
The Rams currently have eight cornerbacks on the 90-man offseason roster and several of those spots should be secure to make the roster at the conclusion of training camp.
Janoris Jenkins, E.J. Gaines and Trumaine Johnson are expected to compete for the two starting cornerback spots on the outside. Lamarcus Joyner, the Rams’ second-round pick a year ago, was drafted to man the nickel cornerback spot inside, though those plans didn’t quite work out during his rookie season because of injury and ineffectiveness. Marcus Roberson made the roster as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2014 after leaving Florida early.
Those five players are good bets to make the roster again this fall.
But that could leave an opening or two for another cornerback.
Brandon McGee was a fifth-round pick in 2013 but was limited to just two games in his second season because of injuries. Montrell Garner is another UDFA rookie, like Claiborne, out of South Alabama.
Claiborne comes to the Rams with some solid credentials.
He was a two-year starter at Northwestern State and earned All-Southland first-team honors as a senior after setting career highs in tackles (47), passes defended (11) and interceptions (four).
At his pro day, Claiborne ran the 40-yard dash in 4.56 and 4.59 seconds. He recorded a vertical leap of 39 inches and a broad jump of 10 feet. He put up 13 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press.
NFL.com projected Claiborne as a third- or fourth-round pick and raised the possibility that he could move from cornerback to safety at the next level.
“Confident, ascending press-cover cornerback with the foot quickness and hips to match receivers off the line of scrimmage and in tight quarters,” the NFL.com scouting report said. “He's a willing tackler with decent recovery burst, but his questionable long speed and lack of premium size could turn him into a solid slot corner in the league.”
Claiborne received a seventh-round grade from Dane Brugler of NFLDraftScout.com, who rated him as the 34th-best cornerback prospect in the draft.
“Claiborne lined up mostly in press coverage and was asked to jam and bail, but did his best work when he played nose-to-nose at the line of scrimmage and used his length and aggression to disrupt receivers,” Brugler wrote in his scouting report. “While he can locate quickly with ball skills when he turns, he still doesn’t have a great feel at the position downfield and will need to make a living on special teams while he develops on defense.”
That could be Claiborne’s ticket to winning a spot on the Rams’ roster, just like Roberson did a year ago.
With Jenkins and Johnson entering the final year of their rookie contracts, the Rams should be watching the cornerback position closely during OTAs and training camp.
