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2011 NFL Draft, 50 in 50: Adrian Clayborn - DE - Iowa

By Drew Kerr Updated
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In the search for new players in the draft, each team will be looking to get stronger at the positions that they have holes at. In doing so, some teams will strike out and others will hit big. There will be players drafted early on that will fail and there will be players that are draft later that will succeed.

The San Francisco 49ers had one of the best front seven's in the league in 2009. In 2010, the production fell off enormously. It could have very well been a reflection of poor coaching but it could have also had something to do with the players and their personal motivation falling off.

However, a portion of that front seven did quite well.

Specifically, the 49ers will be looking to potentially upgrade at the defensive end position. They have one starter in the middle that may not return, another that has been marked as average by a majority of the fan base, and one more that is aging but showing no signs of slowing down. The depth at that position is not exactly ideal.

San Francisco could very well be looking to upgrade there early on; within the first three rounds.

Below the jump, we'll preview Adrian Clayborn, the defensive end out of Iowa.

Adrian Clayborn's largest issue this year was over-pursuit. His instincts and feel for the ball diminished from previous years. It's hard to put together a connection as to why this was happening. The first ply of this video did not happen as often as it did this year, but it is a good illustration as to what was going on a lot in 2010. Clayborn does however have good measurable's. He is very strong and has good technique to penetrate in to the backfield.

Here are Clayborn's career stats at Iowa:

Stats Overview Tackles Misc Interceptions
YEAR TOT SOLO AST SACK STF STFY FF BK INT YDS AVG LNG TD PD
2007 19 3 16 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
2008 50 15 35 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
2009 63 29 34 11 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
2010 52 19 33 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
2010 Regular Season Game Log Tackles Misc Interceptions
DATE OPP RESULT TOT SOLO AST SACK STF STFY FF BK INT YDS AVG LNG TD PD
9/4 Eastern Illinois W 37-7 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
9/11 Iowa State W 35-7 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
9/18 @Arizona L 34-27 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
9/25 Ball State W 45-0 5 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
10/2 Penn State W 24-3 10 2 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
10/16 @Michigan W 38-28 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
10/23 Wisconsin L 31-30 5 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
10/30 Michigan State W 37-6 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
11/6 @Indiana W 18-13 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
11/13 @Northwestern L 21-17 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
11/20 Ohio State L 20-17 7 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
11/27 @Minnesota L 27-24 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
2010 Postseason Game Log Tackles Misc Interceptions
BOWL OPP RESULT TOT SOLO AST SACK STF STFY FF BK INT YDS AVG LNG TD PD
INSIGHT BOWL Missouri W 27-24 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0

Summary: I think that the ceiling for Clayborn is very high. His motor does not stop until the whistle... and sometimes even after that. It is going to take the right situation and right defense to help his tangibles meet the potential that is there. There is some talent that is evaluated over Clayborn in this draft but he could very well have one of the highest caps out of any of them.

PREDICTION: 1st - 2nd Round.

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