out of 50 on the Wonderlic Test, which is an aptitude test given to NFL prospects to test basic intelligence. After being drafted, Claiborne admitted he "blew the test off" (the Wonderlic test) after seeing that it had "nothing on the test that came with football". Claiborne withheld surgery to repair a wrist injury until after he performed at the NFL Combine and LSU’s pro day. He sustained a ligamentous injury to his wrist on November 5, 2011, but elected to play through it for the remainder of the season. Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys selected Claiborne in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft. The Dallas Cowboys traded their first (14th overall) and second round picks (45th overall) in the 2012 NFL Draft to the St. Louis Rams and received their first round pick (6th overall) which they used to draft Claiborne. Claiborne was the first defensive back drafted in 2012 and was the Cowboys’ highest draft pick since they drafted Terence Newman fifth overall in 2003. During the pre-draft process, the Dallas Cowboys did not have a pre-draft visit with Claiborne as they “didn’t think it was realistic” he would be available at 14th overall. The Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones stated Claiborne would be the only player the Cowboys would be willing to trade up for in the first round. 2012 On July 23, 2012, the Dallas Cowboys signed Claiborne to a fully guaranteed four-year, $16.4 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $10.3 million. Claiborne was not able to physically participate at rookie minicamp and organized team activities as he recovered from surgery on his wrist. During training camp, Claiborne competed to be a starting cornerback against Mike Jenkins. Head coach Jason Garrett named Claiborne and Brandon Carr the starting cornerbacks to begin the regular season. They began the season starting alongside free safety Gerald Sensabaugh, strong safety Barry Church, and nickelback Orlando Scandrick. He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Dallas Cowboys’ season-opener at the New York Giants and recorded four solo tackles during their 24–17 victory. On October 21, 2012, Claiborne recorded two combined tackles, deflected two passes, and made his first career interception as the Cowboys defeated the Carolina Panthers 19–14 in Week 7. Claiborne intercepted a pass by Panthers’ quarterback Cam Newton, that was originally intended for wide receiver Louis Murphy, during