Green Bay Packers film review: Kenny Clark stepping up

Besides the offensive improvement, there was another important development for the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night against the Chicago Bears–the promising performance of Kenny Clark.

Clark wasn’t a sexy pick, but he was a necessary one with the retirement of B.J. Raji. He hasn’t received too many snaps yet this year, but when he has, he’s shown promising signs.

Let’s look at the two consecutive plays on Thursday night where Clark registered both of his tackles.

Play 1

One of Clark’s strengths is definitely his athleticism. On this second quarter play, he shows how that ability can come into play on the defensive line.

Kenny Clark shows his athleticism here https://t.co/RYeerWPGYe

— Kevin Culligan (@kevin_culligan) October 25, 2016

Clark begins the play lined up outside the shoulder of right guard Ted Larsen on this play, and it’s a pitch to the left. The 313 pound lineman shouldn’t even be a factor, and Larsen pays Clark only cursory mind before moving to the second level to wall of Jake Ryan.

Clark, however, is surprisingly fast for his size. He peels off of Larsen and sprints across the line of scrimmage to take down Chicago RB Jordan Howard for a very short gain.

Play 2

On the following play, the Bears try a run up the middle. Once again, Clark is there to stuff it.

Next play, tackle for loss https://t.co/6Q723Eegy5

— Kevin Culligan (@kevin_culligan) October 25, 2016

This time, he’s lined up on the inside shoulder of left guard Eric Kush. Clark is single teamed on the play, leaving Kush responsible for getting in position quickly.

Once again, Clark is too fast off the ball. He beats Kush cleanly and makes an impressive open field tackle on Ka’Deem Carey.

Conclusion

On these two plays, Clark showed that he’s much more than a space-eating nose tackle. He’s an athletic force to be reckoned with on the defensive line.

After receiving heavy dosages of snaps in Week 2 and Week 3, Clark’s usage has dipped due to the returns of Letroy Guion and Mike Pennel to the defensive front. But his play has been extremely promising, especially from a player just 21 years of age.

Clark’s been a solid contributor the Packers’ league-leading run defense, and his athleticism promises that he can eventually become an effective pass rusher as well. Though it’s still early, Clark looks to be worthy of the first round pick that Ted Thompson used on him.