Kenneth Duane Clark Jr. (born October 4, 1995) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

for the Green Bay Packers of the

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(NFL). Playing college football for the

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, 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 The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015 NFL Draft, 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park (Chicago), ...

, with the 27th overall pick.

Early years

Clark attended Wilmer Amina Carter High School in Rialto, California. As a senior, he had 71 tackles and 11 sacks. He was rated by

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as a four-star recruit and committed to the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

(UCLA) to play college football. Clark also wrestled in high school.

College career

Clark appeared in all 13 games as a true freshman at UCLA in

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. He started four games and had 31 tackles. As a sophomore in

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, Clark was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection after starting all 13 games and making 58 tackles. 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 Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

. He was named third-team All-American by the

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and was the lone Bruin named first-team All-Pac-12. Clark had a career-high 11 tackles in the Foster Farms Bowl against

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

, 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

Professional career

Clark was selected in the first round (27th overall) by the Green Bay Packers in the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015 NFL Draft, 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park (Chicago), ...

. 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. 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. Clark made his professional debut in the Packers' season opener against the

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and made one assisted tackle in the 23–27 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. 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 OT win over the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

. 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. Kenny Clark

On April 22, 2019, the Packers picked up the fifth-year option on Clark's contract. On August 15, 2020, Clark signed a four-year, $70 million contract extension with a $25 million signing bonus. In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Rams, Clark recorded 1.5 sacks on

Jared Goff Jared Thomas Goff (born October 14, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California, where he set the Pac-12 Conference season records for passi ...

during the 32–18 win. On December 23, 2021, Clark was named to his second

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

. 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.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

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Green Bay Packers bioUCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Kenny 1995 births Living people Players of American football from California Sportspeople from San Bernardino, California American football defensive tackles UCLA Bruins football players Green Bay Packers players National Conference Pro Bowl players