Why The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Don’t Care About The Wonderlic

Published: 9^th Apr 12 2:03 pm

by Max Luckan
NFL Columnist

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Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE

Yes, Morris Claiborne most likely scored a four out of 50 on his Wonderlic exam. Well, does it matter? The answer is no. While the Wonderlic is supposed to measure the aptitude of people and how good they are at problem-solving, it’s almost completely irrelevant when it comes to the on-field intelligence of a prospective cornerback. Hence, Morris Claiborne’s score of four won’t determine how well he perfoms on the field.

Yeah, yeah some people argue that that quarterbacks will easily be able to outsmart the opposing corner. But that’s not due to their higher Wonderlic score. For one, NFL experience will always trump any score on any exam. Having game experience is invaluable in the NFL. Asky any scout. Or for that matter, ask anyone that’s ever seen an NFL game. It’s also worth noting that Greg McElroy scored a 43, and not to knock him, but he hasn’t exactly had the most successful NFL career so far. Some guy named Brett Favre scored a 22 in 1991, in case you wanted to validate my argument. A better example? Dan Marino scored a 15 in 1983. Still not convinced? How about Terry Bradshaw’s 15 in 1970.

The point is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won’t let Claiborne’s result affect if they draft him at number five or not. General manager Mark Dominik understand that standardized testing isn’t for everyone. Moreover, the Bucs might even go so far as to ignore his score completely. Though, that will be tough given all the attention it has received over the past week. And it doesn’t change the fact that the Wonderlic results are supposed to be kept private. Roger Goodell recently sent out a memo warning against leaks.

It simply shouldn’t affect draft stock because the test has almost nothing to do with football. It’s not even remotely close to the same thing as football IQ. Football IQ is gained through experience, and the ability to know which move is necessary in every situation. It’s based on instinct, and thus, is not the same as answering problem-solving questions on an exam.

Now, I’m not saying that the test should be completely eliminated, or that I’m totally against making the scores public. That’s a different story. One could make the argument that the scores should be a small, and I mean microscopic, part of a scouting report. But as it stands now, the results of the exam are meant to be private, and they don’t mean much when it comes to assessing the talent of a football player. To put it simply, the Bucs don’t care about the Wonderlic because there is no direct correlation between a high score and success in the NFL.

You can follow Max Luckan on Twitter @MaxLuckan

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