Damone Clark: Why the Dallas Cowboys drafted the linebacker in the 2022 NFL Draft
With the 176th pick in the 5th round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys selected linebacker Damone Clark. Here's what we know about the player.
Damone Clark's Strengths:
This is a former four-star linebacker recruit from Baton Rouge. Clark decided to stay in his hometown and follow an illustrious lineage of linebackers for the Tigers. After barely seeing the field on special teams as a freshman, he would rack up 248 tackles, 23 of those for loss, ten sacks and four PBUs over the next three years, earning first-team All-SEC accolades in 2021.
Clark rarely allows himself to be cut off on the backside of zone runs, disengaging with his hands and working over the top of blocks, where those 33-inch arms are helpful. When the RB cuts back and allows somebody to climb up to Clark, he has the sturdy base to hold his ground mostly and fight through contact.
He can bounce off interior linemen and is quick to use his hands to create an angle towards the ball for himself, if he does get slightly taken off track. Clark has the skill to navigate around blockers in space, while ripping through their reach. There’s some chippiness to him, with the way he throws guys off himself late.
Clark is also pretty quick to recognize misdirection and change his momentum as well. You see him at times trail a pulling guard and crash through, to take everybody down or at least create a mosh pit in the backfield. Then when he has a clean shot at the ball-carrier, he really launches those hips through the hit, to not allow ball-carriers to gain extra yardage, while also making plenty of solid stops from the side, as he twists guys down.
Clark is known as an inside thumper in the SEC, but he has that speed to chase people down towards the sideline and is a good space-tackler- And when he has to turn and chase, he can even run some wide receivers down.
Transitioning to Clark in the passing game, when he sees the quarterback drop back and he’s responsible for the middle of the field in zone, his eyes instantly go to his first key and he maintains bouncy feet. Along with that, he reads his eyes on the quarterback throughout the play and can knock guys off track, who try to work across his area. In man-coverage, you see the burst to make up ground and get into the hip-pocket of backs, who initially have him out-leveraged on flat routes. He stays patient sitting over option routes by the back and doesn’t get his feet stuck in the sand as he sees the break either way.
Coming forward as a blitzer, Clark displays the ability to side-step running backs in protection when blitzing through one of the interior line, paired with a pretty effective double-hand swipe. He got around Mississippi State’s Kylin Hill a few times back in 2020, who I thought was one of the better pass-protecting backs in last year’s class. I also really like the way he can contribute as an add-on rusher or spy, staying locked in on the movement of the quarterback and taking off once he sees that guy is looking to escape, or if a lane opens up for him.
Damone Clark's weaknesses:
Sometimes Clark's consistency is an issue on a game-to-game basis. He has a high floor so this is not too much of an issue, however it is something he needs to work on.
He relies on his vision too much, often falling for fakes and misdfirections. Perhaps through eagerness, or an understanding that most often things are exactly as they seem, but when they aren't, he has a tendency to be caught out.
He isn't incredible at shedding blocks, which can lead to him seeming to disappear for lengthy periods of the game. He isn't that quick, so doesn't often have big, flashy plays that really let you know he's there.
Conclusion on Damone Clark:
It’s rare to still see linebackers be able to keep big offensive linemen from his frame and stand his ground, while also having the speed track down really fast people. Clark isn’t going to wow everybody with sudden bursts or a fluid lower body necessarily, but he’s a complete enough all-around player to make an impact on all three downs.
He has plenty of room to grow with proper coaching, while being a high-level run defender from day one. He was thumping people in the run game throughout Senior Bowl practices, being voted American LB of the week for it, and had two really important numbers in the combine drills – a 4.57 in the 49 and a 7.12 three-cone, which at 240 pounds are both excellent.
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