Morris Claiborne Draft Pick Announced

[CyberB0b]

Many draft reports were wrong. All you had to do was watch him play. I think it's pretty evident that he was not a zone CB coming out. I think what happened there is that people watched him and because of his long arms and natural abilities, they simply assumed he would be able to play zone well but that's not what I ever saw from him, while at LSU. If you want to go on the draft reports, that's fine but they aren't true. Said it then and saying it still.

Byron Jones didn't play zone in college. Do you feel the same way about him?

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Byron Jones didn't play zone in college. Do you feel the same way about him?

No. Jones has burst and is a bit more of a quick twitch athlete and I see Jones with better anticipation then Mo in zone. Now, to be fair, I haven't seen nearly as much of Jones as I did Mo at LSU but, from what I've seen, I think he's going to be a much better fit in Zone. The key for him, IMO, will be to improve his tacking and his ability to close and make the tackle for short gains consistently. From the stand point of how he actually plays the ball in the air in zone, I actually like what I've seen from him. He highpoints the ball really well. He has the ability to come off his guy and track the ball in the air. He gets vertical really well and he actually catches the ball. I really like this part of his game, thus far.

 

[Alexander]

I am just pretending Claiborne got shipped off in exchange for Alex Barron at this stage.

 

[CyberB0b]

No. Jones has burst and is a bit more of a quick twitch athlete and I see Jones with better anticipation then Mo in zone. Now, to be fair, I haven't seen nearly as much of Jones as I did Mo at LSU but, from what I've seen, I think he's going to be a much better fit in Zone. The key for him, IMO, will be to improve his tacking and his ability to close and make the tackle for short gains consistently. From the stand point of how he actually plays the ball in the air in zone, I actually like what I've seen from him. He highpoints the ball really well. He has the ability to come off his guy and track the ball in the air. He gets vertical really well and he actually catches the ball. I really like this part of his game, thus far.

Mo was great at high pointing the ball.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Mo was great at high pointing the ball.

Mo was really good at using his length to disrupt the pass but I don't think Mo was nearly as good at coming off his man and playing the ball like you would if you were a free safety. Mo used his size an his athletic ability to body you up and then make a play on the ball. He was not good at playing in a zone or playing in off coverages and tracking the ball down to make the play. That, to me, is something Jones looks to be really good at.

 

[CyberB0b]

Mo was really good at using his length to disrupt the pass but I don't think Mo was nearly as good at coming off his man and playing the ball like you would if you were a free safety. Mo used his size an his athletic ability to body you up and then make a play on the ball. He was not good at playing in a zone or playing in off coverages and tracking the ball down to make the play. That, to me, is something Jones looks to be really good at.

I disagree. From what I have seen, Jones is NOT great at playing in space. If he doesn't have his hand on the WR, he gets lost. Jones hasn't played safety in 2 years, and I haven't seen any footage of him playing at safety.

I realize this is a highlight video, but you can really see Mo coming off his guy and playing the ball in college:

Either way, it's clear he isn't that guy here in Dallas.

 

[CarlAllDay]

Gruden nailed it.

he certainly did wow

 

[CarlAllDay]

and JC isn't known to be a "power back"

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Said it on draft day it was a dumb decision, this was clearly a Jerry Jones decision, because that's how he thinks, he believed you build from the outside/in and that never works especially when that team had more holes than Swiss cheese, you NEVER trade up in a draft.....this will be Claiborne's last year in Dallas since he can't cover his own shadow,..

so if the pick turned out good, would it still be a Jerry decision, or is it only a Jerry decision because it didn't turn out well?

 

[xwalker]

I disagree. From what I have seen, Jones is NOT great at playing in space. If he doesn't have his hand on the WR, he gets lost. Jones hasn't played safety in 2 years, and I haven't seen any footage of him playing at safety.

I realize this is a highlight video, but you can really see Mo coming off his guy and playing the ball in college:

Either way, it's clear he isn't that guy here in Dallas.

I didn't see any problem with Jones playing in space. He played off coverage often and he didn't push or grab as much as most college CBs.

Playing zone is mental. Any good man coverage CB should have the physical ability to play zone. Claiborne is just too dumb to do it. Jones has above average intelligence.