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Morris Claiborne Vs. Trent Richardson: pick a side

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* I want to preface by saying, position value aside, I love both of these prospects. Both are dynamic playmakers and will instantly improve both sides of the ball. For the reasons Trent will help the defense, Claiborne will help the offense.

That said
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1. Morris Claiborne, CB LSU

When Honey Badger accepted his Heisman nomination, the first person he should have thanked was Claiborne.

1. He's an elite corner with saucer hands and sonar tracking ability. From a pure, technical aspect, he is the best CB prospect since Revis. Sure, Peterson & Haden may be better athletes, but they never had the coverage skills Claiborne had coming into the draft.

2. The " you don't pay 2 elite guys who play the same position" argument is ridiculous. Who cares? You pay your best starters (factoring age, ability, production), no matter the position. It's not as if we'd be paying 2 RB's starter money. You need, at the minimum, 2 CB's on the field at all times. And getting 2 elite CB's is extremely rare.

3. By having 2 elite cover corners, it allows the front 7 to be significantly more aggressive. Which, in turn, gives the offense more chances to score. It also pushes Brown to FS and Ward to SS, filling THREE holes (Ward played FS last year because Ward at FS was better than Usama Young playing anywhere). Want to see Jabaal Sheard get 10-15 sacks? Claiborne will be his best friend. Adding Claiborne to the defense will make a good, young defense that much better.

4. Also, when you compare the longevity of the CB vs. RB positions, it's not a contest. In other words, would you rather have 3-6 elite years of Trent or 7-10 elite years of Claiborne?

5. Forget the Wonderlic score. An independent study showed the 2 positions that the Wonderlic score mattered least were Tight Ends and Cornerbacks.



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2. Trent Richardson, RB Alabama

1. The one thing I really like about Trent is that last year was the first time he rushed the ball more than 145 times. The wear & tear isn't nearly as significant as it typically is with elite RB's.

2. I. Love. This. Kid. Vision, speed, strength, excellent lateral movement, great catcher out of the backfield & an elite blocker. I thought he was 5'11. Being 5'9 I like him even more. Total package and, when you factor in amount of carries, running style, etc, a better back than Peterson was coming out.

3. I despise when those against Trent bring up him not playing well in the BCS game. Few facts:
A. He had knee injury that required surgery (only a meniscus tear, but you are unable to fully extend your knee).
B. They stacked the box because they had, ahem, Claiborne shutting down 1 side of the field and Badger roaming.
C. Despite that, he still had 96 yards, 4.8 YPC & a TD.

4. The offense, outside of Thomas, Mack, hopefully Little, has nothing. And the first 2 are linemen. We need playmakers & Trent is the best non-QB threat in this draft. He'll help Colt, help the WR's, help Hardesty and will keep the defense off the field.


Forget trading down for extra picks. At #4, who do you want? I am about 99% convinced that one of these guys will be a Brown next Thursday. For me, I'm leaning more towards Claiborne but it's about as close as it can get.
 
Trent...I think he's slightly a better player, at a greater position of need, and will actually help the offense AND defense because of increased time of possession. It's time to invest something in the offense.
 
I have thought about this a lot over the past few weeks when it became clear that these two were our primary targets. I think Richardson is the fun pick, but Claiborne is the smart pick. Claiborne would make our pass defense one of best, if not the best, in the NFL. That's how you get great in the NFL -- you have one thing that the other team has no answer for.

With that said, Richardson is the best consolation prize of all time.
 
I have thought about this a lot over the past few weeks when it became clear that these two were our primary targets. I think Richardson is the fun pick, but Claiborne is the smart pick. Claiborne would make our pass defense one of best, if not the best, in the NFL. That's how you get great in the NFL -- you have one thing that the other team has no answer for.

With that said, Richardson is the best consolation prize of all time.

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Picking Mo Claiborne isn't the sexiest pick but I think it's the right one.

- Claiborne instantly gives us more bang for our buck: he lets us move Brown to FS and Young to utility safety – one pick and 3 holes filled.

- Corner is a position of greater importance and is much more difficult to find than a productive RB.

- I absolutely love the RBs in the late 1st-early/mid 2nd and I believe that any one of them could still add the dynamic playmaker we need on offense… Doug Martin, David Wilson, Lamar Miller; take your pick. Even the later guys would platoon well with Hardesty.

- RBs are getting pushed down the board because it’s a passing league now and CBs are getting pushed up (talk of Gilmore in the Top 10). That means that some serious talent is sitting there for us later at RB but CB might be a stretch. If we want bang for our buck, CB 1st and RB later is the way to go.

- Claiborne should end up playing much longer than Richardson. Richardson’s physical style will likely see his career end around 30. Claiborne could play at a good level well beyond that.

All that said, I’d be cool if we ended up with Richardson. If he wasn’t such a talent, he wouldn’t even be in the equation. I just really think that if we’re building this long term, we need to ignore the calls of just drafting offense so that this team is “exciting to watch” and make the move that’s best for the long-term vision of the franchise. Besides, I really think that if we draft properly, we can take a guy like Claiborne and STILL add weapons and fun to the offense.
 
I am scarred to take Claiborne because I think we end up losing him or Haden because we have too much money tied up in corners in 4 or 5 years. I dont like taking rb's this early, but if we go rb, wr, qb, ot with our first 4 picks, we have a whole new offense.

So, I guess I am a vote for team Trent. i am more of a vote for team trade down 4 spots and pick up another 2nd rounder and select Floyd with our first pick,.
 
I'll go with Claiborne on the basis of Haden/Claiborne would make our whole defense that much better. Blitzes work better when you can actually play man and not get beat.
 
Claiborne. But Trent is pick 1b for me, so I wouldn't mind him at all either. I just the idea of adding another stud on defense. I can live with drafting Wilson, Miller, etc. to fill in the RB spot.
 
Team Trent.

In some ways, having an elite running back or 2 elite CBs is a luxury in the NFL, but given the option of those 2 scenarios I'd rather have 1 elite RB and 1 elite CB than 2 elite CBs. I just feel like he will have a MUCH bigger impact on this team, in a much greater area of need.

Won't be upset with Claiborne either.
 
Ask me today, it's Trent Richardson. Ask me tomorrow, it'll probably be Mo Claiborne.

I cannot decide. I would be extremely happy with either one.

Edit: just watched Richardson's highlights again. Fuck it, I want Richardson. Probably the best combo of feet, vision, and power I have ever seen. I think he'll be better than AP because of his size and ability to hide behind the offensive line.

I know this is going to sound stupid but I think it makes sense: Remember Jerome Harrison at the end of 2010? Imagine that production ever game, and perhaps even better? I think that is Richardson. He is Harrison with power and significantly better feet and vision. He can just pop out of the line and run you over.
 
Ask me today, it's Trent Richardson. Ask me tomorrow, it'll probably be Mo Claiborne.

I cannot decide. I would be extremely happy with either one.

I'd be pretty damn happy with either one, but still would have a little bit of sadness to have to watch another great RB become a stud in another jersey.
 
It's so tough because CB is a harder position to fill than RB. It's just our offense is so bad that it makes me lean towards Trent Richardson. Long term I feel like Claiborne is obviously the better pick. Harder position to fill, longer longevity than RB. Just the possibility though of watching Richardson just blow past Ray Lewis old ass and fucking truck one of their CBs and house it would be amazing.

I feel like it would make us instantly more competitive, where as Claiborne would be a great addition to our young defensive core. I'm just not sure it'd make a large impact this year as our Run D last year was absolutely awful. A 3-13 team might get them all fired, then again Randy might be really letting them have their full 5 years and they may take Claiborne. It's impossible to know, Christmas sucks and isn't like it was when we were all young. The NFL draft has supplanted Christmas for myself and grown men everywhere.

.............................I'll take Mo-Tr........Trent Richardson.

With that said, I'd still really like to take David Wilson, LaMichael James, or another top 3 round running back to tandem with him and not run him into the ground. Cut Spins (MoHard), and let B-Jax and Ogbonnaya slug it out for the 3rd back and cut Armond Smith. Maybe keep Ogbonnaya as a 4th RB as the position can deplete quickly.
 
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