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By Charlie Campbell
Weaknesses:
Summary: LSU has been a linebacker factory in recent years, with the likes of Devin White, Patrick Queen and Deion Jones ending up as early-round picks. Clark will keep that tradition alive after a massive 2021 season that saw him rank as one of the nation’s leading tacklers throughout his senior year. In 2021, Clark totaled 136 tackles, two forced fumbles, 5.5 sacks, one interception and two passes defended. He more than doubled his tackle total from 2020, when he had 63 stops. He recorded 49 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 2019. After his final season, Clark had an impressive week of practice at the Senior Bowl and was superb at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine.
Clark is the complete package as a linebacker. He has very good instincts and will quickly read his keys to get in position to make plays. For a big linebacker, Clark has surprising speed to get to the perimeter, and he eats up space in a hurry.
In the ground game, Clark is a solid tackler who wraps up ball-carriers and gets them to the ground. Clark, however, slides into some tackles and does not always arrive with violence. It would be good to see him become more forceful and violent as a tackler in the NFL. That would help to avoid missed tackles and being dragged for extra yardage. Clark has the size and mentality to take on a block, hold his ground, shed the block, and get in on the tackle. Clark is a very good run defender and projects to be an asset to shut down and limit an offense’s ground game.
In pass coverage, Clark is a skilled defender. He is a very fast blitzer with excellent diagnosis skills. Clark reads plays quickly and covers a lot of ground in zone. He has the speed to run down the middle seam. On dump-off passes to the flat, Clark flies into the ball-carrier and is good at making tackles in space. His size and athleticism allows him to have the potential to play some man coverage on tight ends and backs out of the backfield.
“He’s long, fast, athletic, and that doesn’t last long in the draft,” said a NFC director of player personnel in mid-November. “He’s similar to Micah Parsons movement wise, but Parsons had a little more freakish juice and was more explosive, but not by a ton. Clark has better instincts than Parsons and the production reflects that. I think Clark will rise into a mid- to high first.”
“Clark is like a better version of Zach Cunningham, and considering Cunningham led the NFL in tackles, that is saying something,” said an AFC director of player personnel. “Clark is not a violent tackler, and I don’t like how he slides into tackles sometimes; that was similar to Cunningham at Vanderbilt. But Clark is more athletic and more physical than Zach.”
While that team felt Clark could rise into being a hight first-round pick, sources at some other teams felt Clark was a second-rounder. They feel he has the body of a middle linebacker but plays like a Will – weak side – linebacker. They say they worry about his eyes and vision. They don’t think he’s overly instinctive as a run-and-hit backer. They feel his production came downfield, and he is a “high effort-to-ball” type linebacker who is not a big tackle-for-a-loss guy. They wanted to see him be more instinctive and explosive on contact. They saw Clark as similar to Zach Cunningham or Oren Burks.
Even though Clark had an excellent combine workout, the medical exam revealed that he required spinal neck surgery that will likely results in him missing his rookie season. Prior to the combine exam revealing that, Clark was on the bubble of being a first- or second-round pick. Because of the medical proble, Clark could slide into the mid-rounds and the third day of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Reports indicate, however, that Clark is expected to make a full recovery. If so, he could be a difference maker as a three-down starter in the NFL and worthy of going in the first round. Clark is a good fit in either a 4-3 or 3-4 defense. Come 2023, Clark should be a plug-and-play starter, assuming he learns the playbook well enough, and he could end up becoming a Pro Bowler.
Player Comparison: Zach Cunningham. Multiple team sources say Clark is similar to Cunningham. Both have sideline-to-sideline speed and are tackling machines as run defenders. They also are skilled in pass coverage. Cunningham has been an excellent NFL linebacker, and Clark could turn into a similar pro.
RELATED LINKS:
2022 NFL Mock Draft: Charlie’s | Walt’s
2022 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings
2022 NFL Draft Scouting Reports
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