The Seattle Seahawks have now drafted two defensive players to add to their "Dark Side" group persona in defensive backs Julian Neal and Bud Clark. Both are players that Seahawks head coach Mike Maconald and general manager John Schneider appear to be ecstatic about.Â
Considering the depth needs the Seahawks had in front of them on defense, it made sense to draft on that side of the ball after offense in the first round with running back Jadarian Price. With Clark and Neal, the Seahawks have two solid depth pieces that can make an immediate impact while developing simultaneously.Â
As for Clark in particular, he'll join three players who have already begun their impact in Seattle: Julian Love, Ty Okada, and the most notable of the trio, Nick Emmanwori. The latter might one day end up an outright Seahawks legend, but it's a legend of the past that Clark attributes a great deal of his journey to the NFL.
Bud Clark models his game after former Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl champion Kam Chancellor
Whenever the "Legion of Boom" gets brought up, a handful of names will forever remain memorable not only during that Seahawks era, but even over a decade later. Kam Chancellor is one of those names many believe was the centerpiece of Seattle's "Legion of Boom" for numerous reasons.Â
Chancellor, a four-time Pro Bowler, two-time All-Pro, and a Super Bowl champion with the Seahawks when they rasied the trophy in 2014, has been retired from the game for several years, but his impact lives on in Clark, who, after getting drafted by the Seahawks in the second round as the 64th overall pick, spoke about Chancellor being his inspriation and who he models his game after.
"He always brought the pop," Clark said, per Seahawks.com reporter John Boyle. "He was the hammer, not the nail, and that’s what I try to do all the time I play."
Clark describes himself as a ball hawk, someone who gets to the ball every chance he gets, which sounds familiar because that's exactly how Chancellor played. Chancellor was a monster to deal with, and Clark is hoping he can replicate as much as he can for the Seahawks.Â
Clark is certainly feeling confident about coming to the Seahawks, and he may already have a leg up on many of his fellow safety counterparts who also got drafted, given how his new head coach loves to give young players all the opportunities he can.Â
In just two seasons, Macdonald has shown a propensity to throw year-one and year-two players into the fire, such as Emmanwori, who, in his rookie season at safety, already showed he belongs in the NFL, thanks to Macdonald's intuition and trust. Very few players Macdonald has trusted early on in their careers have come up short so far.
Whether Clark will earn that same level of trust in quick fashion is an exciting element to pay attention to next season, but given Macdonald's track record, Clark's chances are good. Clark will have to compete with Okada and Love, but it would appear that Clark already has a ton of upside.Â
Now, whether he turns out like Chancellor is another topic of discussion years from now, but what better defensive legend to model your game after than him? Clark is already on the right track.
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