The recognition has arrived, and it won’t be long before a payday follows.
For Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Kenny Clark, the term “underrated” should no longer apply.
Mark Schofield of Touchdown Wire ranked Clark, who made his first Pro Bowl during the 2019 season, as one of the NFL’s top five interior defensive linemen.
Clark ended up at No. 4 on the 11-player list, trailing only Cameron Hayward, Chris Jones and Aaron Donald and confirming his status as one of the game’s titans of the defensive interior.
From Schofield: “It is rare to see sideline-to-sideline ability from an interior defensive lineman, but Clark brings that to the table, along with great awareness for the position. But you also have to take note of his strength, power and leverage.”
Clark is something of a football unicorn. He is a true nose tackle, with the rare combination of size and power to handle the run game in the three-man front, but he’s also graced with impressive quickness and rare pass-rushing ability from the position.
Last season, Clark delivered 62 total pressures – second only to Donald among interior defenders. According to Pro Football Focus, Clark has 146 total pressures and 116 run stops since 2017, making him one of the most productive and disruptive interior defensive linemen in the game.
Amazingly, Clark is still only 24 – he doesn’t turn 25 until October – and although he’s entering the final year of his rookie deal in 2020, both sides are optimistic that he’ll sign a new, long-term deal with the Packers at some point in the near future.
Clark and Za’Darius Smith give the Packers an incredible inside-outside duo. Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire recently ranked Smith as the NFL’s No. 1 edge rusher, and both Clark and Smith finished with top-10 passing grades at PFF last season.
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