Kenny Clark (defensive tackle)

For the NFL defensive tackle active from 1978 to 1991, see Ken Clarke (American football).

Kenny Clark
refer to caption
Clark with the Green Bay Packers in 2017
No. 97 – Green Bay Packers
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1995-10-04) October 4, 1995 (age 29)
San Bernardino, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:314 lb (142 kg)
Career information
High school:Carter (Rialto, California)
College:UCLA (2013–2015)
NFL draft:2016 / round: 1 / pick: 27
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 9, 2024
Total tackles:400
Sacks:34
Forced fumbles:7
Fumble recoveries:7
Pass deflections:10
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Kenneth Duane Clark Jr. (born October 4, 1995) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Playing college football for the UCLA Bruins, he was named a third-team All-American as a junior in 2015, when he also earned his second all-conference selection in the Pac-12. He was selected by the Packers in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft, with the 27th overall pick.

Early life

Clark attended Wilmer Amina Carter High School in Rialto, California. As a senior, he had 71 tackles and 11 sacks. He was rated by Rivals.com as a four-star recruit and committed to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to play college football.[1] Clark also wrestled in high school.[2]

College career

Clark catching a touchdown pass for UCLA in 2015

Clark appeared in all 13 games as a true freshman at UCLA in 2013.[3] He started four games and had 31 tackles. As a sophomore in 2014, Clark was a second-team All-Pac-12 Conference selection after starting all 13 games and making 58 tackles.[4][5][6] Already established as a strong run defender, he improved as a pass rusher as a junior after entering 2015 with just one career sack. He had a career-high three sacks against Washington State.[7] He was named third-team All-American by the Associated Press and was the lone Bruin named first-team All-Pac-12.[8][9] Clark had a career-high 11 tackles in the Foster Farms Bowl against Nebraska, and ranked second on the team with 75 tackles and six sacks. After the season, he decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 2016 NFL draft.[10]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press Wonderlic
6 ft 2+5⁄8 in
(1.90 m) 		314 lb
(142 kg) 		32+1⁄8 in
(0.82 m) 		10+1⁄2 in
(0.27 m)		 5.06 s 1.72 s 2.90 s 4.62 s 28.5 in
(0.72 m)		 8 ft 6 in
(2.59 m)		 29 reps 16[11]
All values are from NFL Combine[12][13]

Clark was selected in the first round (27th overall) by the Green Bay Packers in the 2016 NFL Draft.[14]

On July 17, 2016, the Green Bay Packers signed Clark to a four-year, $9.36 million contract with $7.18 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $5.00 million.[15][16]

He began his rookie season as a starting defensive tackle alongside veteran Mike Daniels. He was also named a backup and rotational defensive end in the Packers' 3–4 defense.[17]

Clark made his professional debut in the Packers' season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars and made one assisted tackle in the 27–23 victory. On September 25, 2016, he made his first career start against the Detroit Lions and racked up a total of four tackles in the Packer's win. In Week 14, Clark made four combined tackles during a 38–10 victory against the Seattle Seahawks.[18] As a rookie in 2016, Clark finished with 21 tackles and two passes defended in 16 games.

In Week 13 of the 2017 season, Clark recorded 1.5 sacks, his first of his NFL career and 6 combined tackles in a 26–20 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He finished the season with 4.5 sacks and 55 tackles.

Clark had a breakout season in 2018, recording 55 tackles, three passes defensed, and six sacks, and was named a Pro Bowl alternate. He suffered an elbow injury in Week 14 and was placed on injured reserve on December 25, 2018.[19]

Clark in a game against the Washington Redskins

On April 22, 2019, the Packers picked up the fifth-year option on Clark's contract.[20]

On August 15, 2020, Clark signed a four-year, $70 million contract extension with a $25 million signing bonus.[21] In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Rams, Clark recorded 1.5 sacks on Jared Goff during the 32–18 win.[22] On December 23, 2021, Clark was named to his second Pro Bowl.[23]

On February 23, 2022, Clark agreed to a restructured deal that converted $13.6 million into a signing bonus to save $10.9 million of salary cap space.[24]

On January 30, 2024, Clark was selected to the 2024 Pro Bowl Games, replacing San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Javon Hargrave due to him participating in Super Bowl LVIII. This was his third Pro Bowl selection.[25]

On July 21, 2024, Clark signed a three-year, $64 million contract extension with the Packers.[26][27]

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Season Team GP GS Total Solo Ast Sck FF FR PD
2016 GB 16 2 21 13 8 0.0 0 2 2
2017 GB 15 15 55 32 23 4.5 2 0 1
2018 GB 13 13 55 36 19 6.0 1 2 3
2019 GB 16 16 62 31 31 6.0 1 0 1
2020 GB 13 13 42 28 14 2.0 0 0 1
2021 GB 16 16 48 27 21 4.0 0 1 0
2022 GB 17 17 53 27 26 4.0 1 1 0
2023 GB 17 17 44 22 22 7.5 2 0 3
2024 GB 1 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 0
Total 123 109 380 216 164 34.0 7 6 11
Source: pro-football-reference.com

Postseason

Season Team GP GS Total Solo Ast Sck FF FR PD
2016 GB 3 0 6 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
2019 GB 2 2 6 5 1 1.0 0 0 0
2020 GB 2 2 11 6 5 2.5 0 0 0
2021 GB 1 1 6 4 2 1.0 0 0 0
2023 GB 2 2 7 4 3 0.5 0 0 0
Total 10 7 36 24 12 5.0 0 0 0
Source: pro-football-reference.com

References

  1. ^ "Kenneth Clark, 2013 Defensive Tackle, UCLA". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  2. ^ "High School Wrestling: UCLA football commit Kenny Clark competing in state meet". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on May 2, 2016. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  3. ^ Wang, Jack (April 24, 2014). "UCLA football notes: Kenny Clark growing into anchor for Bruins' defensive line". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  4. ^ KYLE GLASER (September 1, 2015). "UCLA: Rialto Carter's Clark a defensive force up front". Press Enterprise.
  5. ^ "UCLA DT Kenny Clark stands tall among Pac-12's best players". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 2, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  6. ^ 18 Bruins Named to Football All-Conference Teams Archived December 8, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, UCLABruins.com, December 2, 2014
  7. ^ Terrill, Mark J. (November 18, 2015). "UCLA nose tackle Kenny Clark expands his repertoire". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015.
  8. ^ Haney, Travis (December 13, 2015). "Heisman winner Henry leads selections for Associated Press All-America Team". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 15, 2015.
  9. ^ Kaufman, Joey (December 1, 2015). "UCLA DT Kenny Clark on All-Pac-12 first team; eight Bruins on second team". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on December 5, 2015.
  10. ^ Wang, Jack (December 28, 2015). "UCLA nose tackle Kenny Clark declares for NFL draft". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  11. ^ "Green Bay Packers' picks in the 2016 NFL draft". JSOnline.com. April 30, 2016. Archived from the original on April 21, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  12. ^ "NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles – Kenny Clark". National Football League. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  13. ^ "Kenny Clark – UCLA, DT : 2016 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  14. ^ "Kenny Clark NFL Draft Profile". National Football League. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  15. ^ "Sportrac.com: Kenny Clark contract". sportrac.com. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  16. ^ "Packers sign first-round draft pick Kenny Clark". Packers.com. July 17, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  17. ^ "Ourlads.com: Green Bay Packer's Depth Chart". ourlads.com. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  18. ^ "NFL Player Profile: Kenny Clark". National Football League. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  19. ^ Alper, Josh (December 25, 2018). "Packers put Kenny Clark on injured reserve". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  20. ^ "Packers plan to pick up Kenny Clark's fifth-year option". Acme Packing Company. April 22, 2019.
  21. ^ "Packers sign DL Kenny Clark to contract extension". Packers.com. August 15, 2020.
  22. ^ "Divisional Round – Los Angeles Rams at Green Bay Packers – January 16th, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  23. ^ "2022 NFL Pro Bowl rosters for AFC, NFC: Bucs' Tom Brady gets record 15th selection". ESPN. December 23, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  24. ^ "Packers restructure Kenny Clark's contract, create almost $11M in salary cap space". USA Today. February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  25. ^ "Packers DL Kenny Clark named to 2024 Pro Bowl Games". www.packers.com. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  26. ^ "Packers sign DL Kenny Clark to contract extension". Packers.com. July 21, 2024. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  27. ^ Gonzales, Christian (July 21, 2024). "Packers, DL Kenny Clark agree to three-year, $64 million contract extension". NFL.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
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