Morris Claiborne Is The Smartest Rookie In The NFL

When word leaked that LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne scored a four on his Wonderlic, our measured reaction was "who gives a shit?" It's a test of certain cognitive abilities, and gives a result that offers no prediction of future performance. Claiborne has a distinction that's a hell of a lot more important than a correctly filled-out Scantron: he was one of the best defensive players in football, on one of the best teams in the country.

Ask the Cowboys, who traded up to grab Claiborne at No. 6, what they think of his Wonderlic. Ask Claiborne, who even with the new rookie wage scale, will make eight figures before he plays a game, what he thinks about the Wonderlic. Actually, no need. Here's what he thinks:

"They say it's an IQ test. I came to the combine for football. I looked at the test, and wasn't any questions about football. I didn't see no point in the test. I'm not in school anymore. I didn't complete it. I only finished 15 or 18 questions."

Out of the mouths of babes. Since IQ testing for football players is like forcing prospective math teachers to run a 40-yard dash, there's zero reason any of them should be wasting their time on it. At best, a high score wins hosannas from Gregg Easterbrook. At worst, fans and reporters will gleefully trumpet their low scores, often in racially coded terms.

Every prospect should do what Claiborne did: don't take the test seriously. Don't complete it. Draw little pictures with the Scantron bubbles. Taking tests is no fun, especially when you don't have to take them. And you don't have to take this one. Claiborne's draft position is the latest of thousands of proofs of that.