Clayborn was born in St. Louis, Missouri. At birth, he suffered from a condition known as Erb's Palsy, something that is caused during birth by an injury to the nerves surrounding a child's shoulder. Because his head and neck were pulled to the side as his shoulders passed through the birth canal, he suffered nerve damage resulting in the loss of some movement and weakness in his right arm. Clayborn underwent physical therapy throughout his young life and eventually overcame the limitations caused by the disorder. When Adrian was 10, his older brother Anthony was shot and killed in northern St. Louis. He was survived by his seven children: Asia, Aaliyah, Andrea, Anthony Junior, Demonte, Leaunte, and Keith. Adrian and his wife Shannon volunteer at the Hesed House homeless shelter in Aurora, IL.
Clayborn attended the University of Iowa, and played for the Iowa Hawkeyes football team from 2006 to 2010. He took a redshirt year in 2006, his first season at Iowa. In 2007, Clayborn became a second-string defensive lineman and saw action in several games on special teams. In 2008, Clayborn saw substantial playing time, recording 8 tackles for loss and 50 total tackles. In 2009, Clayborn had a breakout year with 20 tackles for loss. In a dominant effort against Georgia Tech, Clayborn was named Orange Bowl MVP. Heading into the 2010 season, Clayborn was listed on the preseason watch list for several awards. ESPN, Playboy Magazine, Sporting News, College Football Insiders, Lindy's, and Phil Steele all selected Clayborn for their pre-season first team All-American lists. On October 2, 2010, Clayborn had his first break-out game of 2010. He had three tackles for loss against Penn State despite being triple-teamed for parts of the game. His play earned him Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. On November 10, 2010, Clayborn was named one of four finalists for the Rotary Lombardi Award. While preparing for the 2010 Insight Bowl, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz announced that Clayborn was one of three Hawkeyes invited to attend the Senior Bowl, college football's pre-draft event featuring seniors with NFL prospects.
Awards and honors
2010
Consensus First-team All-American by NCAA, AFCA and Walter Camp.
Clayborn was drafted in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Clayborn recorded his first sack in week 3 of the 2011 season against the Atlanta Falcons. His sack on Matt Ryan also caused a fumble recovered by teammate Michael Bennett. In 2012, Clayborn was placed on injured reserve after injuring his knee. Before the 2014 season, it was announced by new GM Jason Licht that the Buccaneers would not be picking up the 5th year option on his rookie contract. He was also moved to the left side since the team signed Michael Johnson for the right side. Though he started out strong in the year, he suffered yet another season-ending injury placing him on IR and his future in Tampa in doubt since he would be an unrestricted free agent in 2015.
Atlanta Falcons
On March 12, 2015, Clayborn signed with the Atlanta Falcons. On March 9, 2016, he re-signed with the Falcons on a two-year deal worth $9 million. He played in 13 games with seven starts recording 22 tackles and 4.5 sacks. In the divisional round of the playoffs, Clayborn suffered a torn bicep and was placed on injured reserve on January 17, 2017, causing him to miss the rest of the playoffs. Without Clayborn, the Falcons reached Super Bowl LI where they lost 34-28 in overtime to the New England Patriots. On November 12, 2017, in Week 10 against the Dallas Cowboys, Clayborn recorded a franchise-record six sacks, one away from tying Derrick Thomas' record of seven, as the Falcons won the game 27–7. He was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week days later. Heading into the 2018 NFL season, the six sacks in one game account for one-fifth of Clayborn's career sack total of 30.
New England Patriots
On March 17, 2018, Clayborn signed a two-year $10 million contract with the New England Patriots. In Clayborn's first season in New England, Clayborn recorded 11 tackles and 2.5 sacks. With Clayborn, the Patriots went on to win Super Bowl LIII 13–3 against the Los Angeles Rams to give Clayborn his first championship. On March 15, 2019, Clayborn was released by the Patriots.
Atlanta Falcons (second stint)
On April 9, 2019, Clayborn signed a one-year $4 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons. In Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Clayborn recorded his first sack of the season in the 24–20 win. In Week 10 against the New Orleans Saints, Clayborn had one sack in the 26–9 win. In Week 11 against the Carolina Panthers, Clayborn had two sacks in the 29–3 win. Clayborn played in 15 games with one start, recording 18 tackles, 4.0 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.
Cleveland Browns
On April 9, 2020, Clayborn signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the Cleveland Browns.
