No Way Around It, Mo Claiborne is a Bust

Morris Claiborne demoted himself with his play and now Cowboys fans are denouncing him with the cruelest of labels: Bust.

But there’s no way around it. In 2012 the Cowboys gave up a second-round draft pick in order to move up in the draft to take the LSU cornerback. At the time we thought it was a shrewd move. The Cowboys had signed Brandon Carr and would now pair him with a shut-down corner they projected to make perennial Pro Bowls with a similar skill set to Deion Sanders.

But after injuries, pathetic play and now a temper tantrum at Valley Ranch, Claiborne is indeed an underwhelming bust.

So much so that even the owner is admitting it.

“Is he what we had hoped for at this point when we drafted him with the sixth overall pick, giving up the pick to go up to the sixth pick to get him? No,” Jones said during his weekly show on KRLD-FM. “But he's going to be a good player.”

You don’t trade up for a “good” player. And a “good” player doesn’t get demoted in Week 3 of the season, especially on the heels of a game-saving interception against the Rams.

Not only is Orlando Scandrick better than Claiborne, so is Sterling Moore. For the 6th overall pick to be 4th-best at his position on his own team, that’s embarrassing.

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I can’t think of a bigger bust in Cowboys’ draft history. Maybe Scott Appleton, the University of Texas Outland Trophy whom the Cowboys drafted 4th overall in ’64 but who instead signed with the AFL’s Houston Oilers. But that’s about it.

The picks Dallas traded to get Claiborne turned into starting defensive tackle Michael Brockers and Pro Bowl receiver Alshon Jeffery.

The Cowboys are left with another draft-day disaster, a high pick who can’t play and now needs his ego stroked just to keep playing football.

And to think, when the Cowboys drafted Morris Claiborne they were envisioning a totally different kind of bust. 

A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He currently lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.

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