Being ‘the Best’ Motivates Clark Entering Year 8

With the start of his eighth NFL season just days away, Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark has lofty goals.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark is a two-time Pro Bowler and generally considered one of the best in the NFL at his position. With his 28th birthday approaching and Year 8 ready to begin on Sunday at the Chicago Bears, what is his motivation?

“Personally, what drives me is I want to be great,” Clark said on Monday. “I know I’m known as one of the best at my position, but I still feel like I haven’t reached my potential and what I can be. I still think I’ve got a lot more to unlock in my game, and I’m working tirelessly to do that. 

“Even with all the Pro Bowl and recognition and all that kind of stuff, I feel like it’s another year where I can put that on tape and show that I’m one of the best, for sure.”

A Pro Bowler in 2019 and 2021, last year wasn’t Clark’s best. While his 53 tackles and four sacks were right about in line with a typical season, he had fewer quarterback hurries, hits, knockdowns and tackles for losses in 17 games than he did in 16 games in 2021. His average tackle came a career-worst 3.0 yards downfield, according to Sports Info Solutions.

Surrounded by an incredibly young supporting cast – third-year player TJ Slaton (two career starts), 2022 first-round pick Devonte Wyatt (zero) and rookies Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks (zero) have started a combined two games – the Packers need Clark to be great.

That’s his goal.

“Honestly, that’s really my motivation is I want to be the best,” he said. “I want to be known as the best, not, like, ‘Oh, he’s in the area where he can be good. He can be this, he can be that.’ I want to be All-Pro, I want to be a Pro Bowler. I want to be known as, when you see me, this is the best D-tackle.”

Clark has sacked the quarterback; he’s got at least four sacks in five of the past six seasons. Clark has stopped the run; he’s led the team’s defensive linemen in tackles each of his seven seasons. He’s been a three-down menace; he’s one of five defensive linemen in the league with six consecutive seasons of two-plus sacks and 40-plus tackles.

“I still feel like it’s a lot more sacks out there for me. I still feel like it’s a lot more TFLs out there for me,” he said. “I feel like I’m pretty consistent, but I feel like I can be just a lot more disruptive than what I already am.”

Kenny Clark (Photo by Sarah Kloepping/USA Today Sports Images)

Some schematic changes brought a smile to Clark’s face but only vanilla answers about playing hard and getting off blocks. However, with the free-agent departures of Jarran Reed and Dean Lowry, Clark will be sliding outside in the base defense with TJ Slaton moving into Clark’s old domain at nose tackle.

Asked if whatever changes are coming will help him reach a loftier level, Clark said: “I hope so. I hope so. Like I said, we’re going to play ball. I’m going to play my brand of ball, and my brand of ball I feel like is the best, and I have to keep proving that every single day. It’s about the work. It’s about the work I put in at practice, it’s about my preparation, and going out there on Sunday and just executing.”

Even as he enters his eighth season, Clark is middle-aged by NFL standards. Still, he’d like to take a less-is-more approach. He’s played more than three-fourths of the defensive snaps four of the last five years. Between defense and special teams, he logged 887 snaps last year. That’s 52 snaps per game.

Because he’s a rare three-down player at the position, it’s easy to see why defensive coordinator Joe Barry and position coach Jerry Montgomery rely on him so heavily. With such a young depth chart, it’s easy to see why they’d like to rely on him again.

But a bit less playing time could allow Clark to reach his targets. And that, in turn, could help the defense lead the team into a new era.

“As far as my snaps, try to get off the field a little bit more, save my legs, so it’ll give me more time to really have my legs [by] not playing eight plays a drive,” Clark said. “I can just help myself. I can be fresh and be able to down in and down out be consistently dominant.

“I feel like I play good enough technique, I’m explosive enough, I’m quick enough off the ball, all that type of stuff, to consistently do that. That’s just my mindset and my thought process, just looking at it throughout the offseason and everything. I feel like I’m a dominant player, I feel like I’m a great player or whatever, but there’s still so much more I can unlock in my game that can help this defense.”

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