The 2024 season was very likely the worst of Kenny Clark’s long and successful NFL career with the Green Bay Packers. This was alarming as it unfolded but is more logically explained by the revelation he played through a toe injury the entire year, before having surgery this offseason.
With that in mind, it is a good time to reestablish what a fully healthy Clark is capable of, as well as what the numbers say about the swift decline in performance the injury caused.
According to his statistical profile, here is what Clark has brought to the Packers defense in recent seasons:
Strengths
Perhaps the most pertinent thing to mention when it comes to Clark is his remarkable availability and consistency. He has rarely missed games throughout his career and also does not take many plays off.
Among qualified NFL interior defenders, Clark ranks in the 81st percentile for snaps per game against the pass, and the 83rd percentile against the run since 2022. He has been the central pillar of Green Bay’s defensive front going back much further.
Clark racks up pressures on the quarterback every year, ranking in the 85th percentile for hurries per pass rush opportunity (HUR/OPP) in the last three years, with at least 29 hurries in each of those seasons and an average of 35.
Versus true pass sets, when defenders can really pin their ears back, Clark has also had plenty of joy, landing in the 77th percentile for HUR/OPP.
He has been consistently effective at disrupting the quarterback, evidenced by his ranking in the 75th percentile for PFF’s pass rush production (PRP) metric, and the 68th percentile against true pass sets. Clark also lands in the 74th percentile in pass rush win rate (WIN %).
Weaknesses
The only true consistent weakness in Clark’s game of late has been his tendency to draw flags. He ranks in the 20th percentile in penalties committed per snap, having racked up 11 of them since 2023.
As the veteran leader of Green Bay’s defensive line, Clark could set a stronger example when it comes to discipline, at least as it relates to penalties.
Other than that, he has been at absolute worst a solid player for the Packers in every aspect of playing defensive tackle.
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Despite dealing with the troublesome toe, Clark still found a way to continue to reinvent himself in year nine, enjoying his best season against the run since for a while.
After ranking in the 31st percentile in tackles per run defense snap between 2022 and 2023, he jumped up to the 52nd percentile last year, slightly above average.
It was a similar story for his run stop percentage, which are tackles which constitute a failure for the offense. Clark went from the 18th percentile in 2022 and 2023 combined to the 66th 2024.
His average depth of tackle (AVDT), which indicates the ability to make tackles before too much damage is done, also improved from the 30th percentile in 2022 to the 82nd percentile over the last two years. Clark has been making plenty of plays around the line of scrimmage in the run game.
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Unfortunately, the area where Clark’s injury seemed to negatively affect him most was against the pass, where he was simply much less impactful than he is used to.
In terms of getting the QB on the ground, Clark went from the 76th percentile in sacks per opportunity (SK/OPP) between 2022 and 2023 to the 10th percentile a year ago. Against true pass sets, he ranked in the 23rd percentile in 2024 compared to the 78th in the previous two seasons.
After putting up 10 sacks in 2023 using PFF’s data, which counts half sacks as full ones, he only had one in 2024.
Clark was less effective overall, dropping from the 87th percentile in the PRP metric in 2022 and 2023 to the 52nd, which is still above average, but when facing true pass sets, his PRP ranking dropped to the 35th percentile from the 85th percentile in the previous two campaigns.
It was an uncharacteristic season from Clark, particularly against the pass, and the injury provided a welcome bit of context.
He is entering his age 30 season, and plays a massive number of snaps each season, with over 6,700 of them under his belt across his NFL career, so there is no guarantee he will simply bounce right back to the player he was in 2022 and 2023.
Still, his strong year versus the run while dealing with injury is encouraging, and if he can even get close to his standard as a pass rusher, he will continue to be the central player of Green Bay’s defensive line and add real value to a group looking to have a greater overall impact in 2025.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: How did toe injury impact Kenny Clark? Stats show his struggles, provide hope for 2025
Reporting by Mark Oldacres, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
