Adrian Clayborn No. 24
June 19th, 2012
There were few bright spots for the Bucs in the dismal 2011 campaign, highlighted (lowlighted?) by the grotesque 10-game losing streak to close the season.
One bright spot was Adrian Clayborn. In Pat Yasinskas’ countdown of the 25 best players in the NFC South on ESPN.com, Clayborn comes in at No. 24.
What he did in 2011: Clayborn was one of the very few bright spots in Tampa Bay last season. As a rookie, he claimed a starting spot immediately and picked things up very quickly. He played the run well right from the start and got better as a pass-rusher as the season went on. Clayborn finished his first NFL season with 7.5 sacks, but 4.5 of those came in the final seven games. Clayborn also forced three fumbles and finished the season with 42 tackles.
Why he’s No. 24 in 2012: Clayborn should only continue to get better and could quickly become the NFC South’s best all-around defensive end. Tampa Bay didn’t lead often last season, so it wasn’t like Clayborn had a lot of sack opportunities and was falling into them. He’s had an entire offseason program for the first time in his career. With a new coaching staff comes a new defense. But Clayborn’s job isn’t changing that dramatically. He’s supposed to make things happen at the line of scrimmage and behind it. Clayborn could be helped greatly if defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and Brian Price are able to stay healthy and generate a pass rush from the interior.
Joe knew Clayborn was special watching him play for Iowa. In two games alone, Clayborn owned Penn State and in one game at Happy Valley literally took over the game himself, blocking a punt and returning it for a score.
So when Clayborn showed early last season when he nearly decapitated Matty Ice it was clear that Clayborn was going to be a fine Bucs player.
There’s no reason to believe Clayborn cannot continue to shine for the Bucs.
June 19th, 2012 at 2:29 pm
VIOLENT!!!!
June 19th, 2012 at 2:46 pm
Kids future looks extremely bright. I would argue that he wasn’t good against the run, though. I remember plenty of times he was boxed out or simply over pursued. But a lot of that had to do with the absence of McCoy and a plethora of unusable DTs. He never gave up though, and he seems more than motivated to become the best in the league. I’m looking forward to seeing Clayborn on the end for years to come.
June 19th, 2012 at 3:27 pm
As good as Adrian Clayborn is, I think Daquan Bowers could be even better if he could stay healthy. Before he tore his achilles I was looking for him to ha e a break out year.
June 19th, 2012 at 3:27 pm
As good as Adrian Clayborn is, I think Daquan Bowers could be even better if he could stay healthy. Before he tore his achilles I was looking for him to have a break out year.
June 19th, 2012 at 3:53 pm
I really like this kid, hard worker should only improve.
June 19th, 2012 at 4:00 pm
if anyone follows him on Twitter daily, i’m really interested in your thoughts of him as a long term quality player “#Living” <—- key word on twitter he uses every chance he gets.
June 19th, 2012 at 4:36 pm
I agree that he did get boxed out a lot and allowed too many plays to get to the outside but I really look at that more from a poor coaching angle since it seemed he was being asked to go inside instead of contain at times. He is very violent as a player and I love that. I think he is intelligent and will only get better. Should have a great year.
June 19th, 2012 at 4:40 pm
Clayborn is a Gamer.
Great pick, I hope lead by emaple, and show GMC how to “Play hard and violent” out there.
Clayborn will have 10+ sacks this year.
He got most of his sacks after GMC was out for the year, impressive!
June 19th, 2012 at 4:55 pm
Man Clayborn is a scary dude out there, he reminds me of the predator. I love his tenacity and effort he seems to bring every play. If he practices and trains the way he plays, the sky is the limit for how good he could be. I think him and Penn are good competition for each other, and will only help each othher get better.
June 19th, 2012 at 5:26 pm
The one bright spot from our defense last year
June 19th, 2012 at 11:06 pm
Right on Patrick.
Clayborn had a decent year on a terribad defense.
June 20th, 2012 at 12:41 pm
Love that guy.