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Green Bay Packers can't resist grabbing DT Clark at No. 27

By The Sports Xchange
The Green Bay Packers and Head Coach Mike McCarthy selected a defensive player in Round 1 of the NFL Draft for the fifth year in a row. Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI
The Green Bay Packers and Head Coach Mike McCarthy selected a defensive player in Round 1 of the NFL Draft for the fifth year in a row. Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

2016 NFL Draft: Green Bay Packers first round pick

That Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson used the team's NFL Draft first-round pick on a defensive player for the fifth straight year came as no shock late Thursday night.

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However, Thompson's selection of UCLA defensive tackle Kenny Clark at the No. 27 spot may have been somewhat surprising, given how many highly touted players still were on the board by the end of the opening round.

Rather than roll the dice with injury-riddled linebacker Myles Jack, another UCLA product, or have his pick from Alabama's terrific trio of linebacker Reggie Ragland and defensive tackles Jarran Reed and A'Shawn Robinson, a poised Thompson targeted Clark.

"Yeah, theoretically," Thompson said about filling a need with the choice, "but, still, we drafted this young man because we felt like he was the best player available."

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And, it's probably no coincidence that Clark is the first interior defensive lineman taken by the Packers in Round 1 since Boston College standout B.J. Raji at No. 9 in 2009.

The stunning decision by Raji in March to walk away from playing for at least a year left a 340-pound void in the middle of Green Bay's defensive line.

Coupled with a four-game suspension meted out by the NFL office to young prospect Mike Pennel a few weeks earlier, the abrupt departure of the run-stuffing Raji made defensive tackle a priority in the offseason.

Thompson, as usual, waited until the draft commenced to start plugging what few holes the Packers have coming off a 10-6 season and another deep run in the playoffs.

The enticement of the versatile, rugged and quick Clark was too good to pass up as the first round wound down, no matter that Jack or Ragland could have been a huge upgrade at inside linebacker.

"Defensive linemen, offensive linemen, they're hard to find," Thompson said. "The combination of being big enough and strong enough and athletic enough to compete in the NFL, those are hard combinations to come up with."

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Despite bypassing his final college season as only a 20-year-old, Clark will make the long trek from his home in San Bernardino, Calif., to Green Bay in the short term with a strong conviction he's set to contribute at the next level.

"I think, mentally, I was just ready," Clark said. "I think I had two great football seasons at UCLA, and I feel I excelled in the weight room. ... and I feel like I was playing at a good speed."

Nowhere near the space eater Raji was the last seven seasons, the 6-foot-3, 314-pound Clark has the credentials to move all over at the front of the Packers' 3-4 scheme. He should mesh nicely with 6-foot, 310-pound defensive lineman Mike Daniels, who, like Clark, has tapped into his high school years as a wrestler to bolster the skill set on the football field.

Regarded as a stout run stopper from the outset of his abbreviated college career, Clark raised his stock in scouts' eyes by emerging as a capable pass rusher last season with six sacks. He made 30 starts for UCLA and racked up more than 20 tackles for loss.

"A lot of stuff (stands out)," Thompson said. "The hand use, the leverage, he's very natural at that. He's got a really strong base. He's not easily moved. He's a 5-flat 40(-yard dash) guy at 315 pounds."

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Clark compares himself to a mix of his two favorite pro players, both defensive tackles: the Cincinnati Bengals' Geno Atkins and the Detroit Lions' Haloti Ngata.

"We're glad we drafted the young man we did today," Thompson said. "We think that's a good start to this draft."

Before he returned to the celebration on the West Coast with 300-some family and friends, Clark couldn't contain just how excited he is to get his pro career started in Green Bay.

"I'm ready to play, and I'm going to bring the best Kenny Clark to the Green Bay Packers that I can," he said. "I'm going to work hard, and I'm going to do my job for the Packers."

With eight picks still in hand, including one each in Friday's second and third rounds, the Packers figure to address the need at linebacker and also bolster their depth at offensive tackle, tight end and possibly running back.

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