Morris Claiborne's low Wonderlic score became national news when it leaked out before the NFL draft. But the cornerback actually might have showed off his smarts when he took the test.
Or to put it another way: He didn't really take the test seriously.
"I looked at the test, and there wasn't any questions that came with football, so I pretty much blew the test off," Claiborne told the Dallas media Thursday.
He told SiriusXM NFL Radio that he only answered 15 to 18 questions on the 50-question test.
"All the talk that I was hearing about the Wonderlic is that it's just not that important," he said. "Everybody I talked to, even coaches and all, they were like, 'That test doesn't mean nothing. That test is not going to declare where you go in the draft, or nothing like that. So if they don't have any football on there, I'm here for football, so what?"
Claiborne's words make a lot of sense, and his attitude certainly didn't hurt his draft stock. The Dallas Cowboys traded up to No. 6 to draft him, a move that "shocked" the LSU product.
We were sitting just a few feet away from Claiborne when he talked about how much it meant to join the Cowboys, a team that his family supports. From his Play 60 appearance to that interview, Claiborne has been by all accounts one of the most genuine, warm players in New York. It's hard not to like him when you are around him. That matters more to teams than any test score.
And what matters most of all -- Claiborne's football skills -- never were in question. Claiborne knows that's what it's all about.
His football skills.
