Leading up to the NFL Draft, most experts had former LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne landing in situations of relative familiarity.
Would he continue to don the purple and gold as a Minnesota Viking? Or would he follow his defensive backs coach, Ron Cooper, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
A barrage of trades among the first 10 picks rendered months of speculation irrelevant, with the Dallas Cowboys moving up to the sixth pick of the first round to take the coveted corner. Claiborne would be the first of two former Tigers – along with defensive tackle Michael Brockers – taken in Thursday’s first round, held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
Not even Claiborne could anticipate the craziness.
“I was shocked,” Claiborne told NFL.com. “[The Cowboys] didn’t even talk to me.”
The first two picks shook out as expected when the Indianapolis Colts and the Washington Redskins secured their future quarterbacks in Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, respectively.
But before the Colts’ clock started ticking, the Vikings made the first move of the night, exchanging the third spot for four of the Cleveland Browns’ league-leading 13 picks. The Browns gave up the fourth overall spot, along with a fourth, a fifth and a seventh-round pick to secure former Alabama running back Trent Richardson and the Vikings used that fourth pick on offensive tackle Matt Kalil, formerly of USC.
Tampa Bay then swapped its fifth spot for the Jacksonville Jaguars’ seventh overall pick and a fourth rounder. The Jaguars used the pick on Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon. That left room for Dallas to step in at No. 6 to steal Claiborne, the cornerback ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. has been calling the next Darrelle Revis. The New York Jets cornerback is widely considered the best in the league.
He’ll be tasked with shoring up a defensive backfield that ranked No. 23 in passing defense last season,
“He’s a guy that will work long and hard to be the best professional football player that he can be,” said LSU football coach and NFL Network guest analyst Les Miles. “He’s going to look great wearing the star.”
Dallas gave up its No. 14 pick and a second-round pick to the St. Louis Rams, who took Brockers in the middle of the round.
“[The Rams’] defensive ends are solid, they need some help inside,” said NFL Network draft expert Mike Mayock. “Michael Brockers, at 320 pounds … will immediately step in, especially on first and second down.”
Former LSU receiver Rueben Randle, who was generally considered a borderline first rounder by most experts, was passed over Thursday.
 
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