Packers 2024 Report Card: Grading Kenny Clark and Defensive Tackles
![Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark (97) pressures Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell. Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark (97) pressures Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2954,h_1661,x_0,y_89/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/packer_central/01jjsm4c4mznah7918q8.jpg)
GREEN BAY, Wis. – With Kenny Clark coming off a third Pro Bowl season and entering his final year under contract, the Green Bay Packers did the logical thing.
They extended his contract.
Including Clark, the same five defensive tackles who played every snap last season played every snap this season.
With that as a backdrop, here is Part 7 of our annual series of player report cards. As we’ve done for about 15 seasons, the grades are viewed through the lens of the salary cap. Why? Because the financial component is so critical to building a team. A championship team needs its most-expensive players to be among its best players, and it needs young, inexpensive players to rise to prominent roles.
All cap figures are from OverTheCap.com. Analytical stats are from Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions.
Kenny Clark
2024 salary cap: $26,365,000. Position rank: 1st.
At the start of training camp, Kenny Clark signed a three-year, $64 million contract extension that included a $17.5 million signing bonus. Coming off perhaps the best season of his career, Clark thought the scheme change would mean taking his career to another level.
“I think it’s going to be huge, man,” he said after signing the extension. “This is going to allow me to really show my talents and I think it’s just going to be a really good thing. It fits me. It fits how I like to play. It fits my mentality and my mindset and I’m excited to see what I can do in this system.”
Clark in 2023 set or matched career highs with 7.5 sacks, nine tackles for losses and 16 quarterback hits. Clark in 2024 had one sack, four tackles for losses and five quarterback hits.
For years, Clark had been one of the best three-down defensive tackles in the NFL. In 2024, he made almost no impact on passing downs.
According to Pro Football Focus, 113 interior defensive linemen played at least 147 pass-rushing snaps. He ranked 52nd in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap, and 38th in pass-rush win rate. His sack rate went from 1.8 percent to 0.3 percent, his pressure count from 61 to 33.
Out of 105 interior defensive linemen who played 145 snaps against the run, Clark finished 42nd in PFF’s run-stop percentage. The run defense was only marginally better with Clark on the field. He missed four tackles (9.8 percent) and his average tackle came 2.1 yards downfield, a bit better than his career mark of 2.3.
In a vacuum, Clark was not an “F” player. This grade reflects the financial context. Among all defensive linemen, Clark had the fourth-highest cap charge. He tied for 143rd in sacks. His performance would have been a disappointment at one-third the price. Whoever the new defensive line coach, he needs to figure out how to get Clark into the backfield again.
Clark is due a $7.5 million roster bonus at the start of the league-year, though his cap number will fall to $20.31 million.
Grade: F.
Devonte Wyatt
2024 salary cap: $3,507,595. Position rank: 50th.
The schematic change, with the focus on an attacking defensive line, was supposed to help Wyatt more than anyone. It would have been interesting to see the final numbers had he not missed three games (and been slowed in others) by an ankle injury. Wyatt in 14 games had five sacks and nine tackles for losses compared to 5.5 sacks and six tackles for losses in 2023.
According to Pro Football Focus, 113 interior defensive linemen played at least 147 pass-rushing snaps. He ranked fourth in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap, and 10th in pass-rush win rate.
The run defense was 0.69 yards per carry worse when Wyatt was on the field, which is why he was on the field for only about 30.0 percent of the run plays. Because of his playmaking ability, his average tackle came 0.70 yards downfield, much better than 1.7 in 2023 and 2.4 in 2022, and his run-stop percentage of 10.9 would have ranked fifth had he played enough snaps. He missed three tackles (13.6 percent).
A lower-leg injury limited him to five snaps in the playoff game. A big decision looms on his fifth-year option.
Grade: C-plus.
TJ Slaton
2024 salary cap: $3,186,130. Position rank: 56th.
Slaton started all 17 games for a second consecutive year. He had one sack, two tackles for losses and three quarterback hits.
According to Pro Football Focus, 113 interior defensive linemen played at least 147 pass-rushing snaps. He ranked 78th in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap, as well as pass-rush win rate.
Where Slaton’s value lies, of course, is the run game. The lone big body on the defensive line, the run defense was 0.50 yards better when Slaton was on the field. Out of 105 interior defensive linemen who played 145 snaps against the run, Slaton finished 26th in PFF’s run-stop percentage.
His average tackle came 1.9 yards downfield – the best of his career by 0.4 yards. He missed four tackles (12.1 percent).
Grade: C-plus.
Colby Wooden
2024 salary cap: $1,106,982. Position rank: 116th.
After playing in all 17 games as a rookie fourth-round pick in 2023, Colby Wooden failed to make the roster this year. When Devonte Wyatt suffered an ankle injury, the door was open for Wooden, who played in the final 13 games. His 20 tackles, two tackles for losses and two passes defensed were better than his rookie numbers.
According to Pro Football Focus, 113 interior defensive linemen played at least 147 pass-rushing snaps. (That’s Wooden’s number, in case you were wondering.) He ranked 101st in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap, and 68th in pass-rush win rate. His pressure count went from 11 in 115 pass-rush snaps in 2023 to six in 147 in 2024.
Had he played enough run snaps, he would have ranked 35th out of 105 in PFF’s run-stop percentage. The run defense was 0.36 yards better when he was on the field. He missed one tackle (4.8 percent) and his average tackle was 2.5 yards downfield (better than 3.0 last year). He showed some flexibility with about 60 snaps played other than at tackle.
Grade: C-minus.
Karl Brooks
2024 salary cap: $968,007. Position rank: 136th.
Karl Brooks was drafted two rounds after Colby Wooden in 2023 but has been deemed the better player. He played in all 17 games again and posted similar production to 2023 with 3.5 sacks, four tackles for losses and six quarterback hits. He’s got a nose for the ball with five fumble recoveries, six passes defensed and two forced fumbles in two seasons.
According to Pro Football Focus, 113 interior defensive linemen played at least 147 pass-rushing snaps. He ranked 36th in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap, and 44ths in pass-rush win rate.
Out of 105 interior defensive linemen who played 145 snaps against the run, Brooks finished only 84th in PFF’s run-stop percentage. The run defense was 0.26 yards worse when he was on the field. His average tackle came 1.2 yards downfield and he missed four tackles (16.7 percent).
Other than Brooks’ blocked field goal, which saved the Packers at Chicago, how many game-turning plays did this unit make?
Grade: B-minus.
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