Bud
Clark.
Bud
Clark.
TCU· 6'1"· 197 lb· 4.41s 40
"Instinctive TCU single-high safety with sudden click-and-close range and ball-hawk production; size and tackle finish keep him graded as a Day 2 nickel/free safety over a true two-deep alpha."Pre-draft read
Plays free safety with early eyes and a decisive downhill trigger from post alignments. He reads the quarterback's shoulder and route stems in Cover-1 and Cover-3, opening his hips cleanly out of a backpedal. He finishes at the catch point with aggression, forcing incompletions more often than pure pass breakups. His ball skills are a separator, tracking deep throws over the shoulder with corner-quality body control.
He plays fast because he gets to spots early, utilizing angles rather than relying on pure recovery speed due to only average short-area burst. His tackling is willing and consistent in the alley. However, his frame limits pop-shot finishes against bigger backs, and he can be walled off in traffic.
Cover-3 match, emphasizing deep-middle coverage reliability and ball-hawking tendencies to create turnovers downfield.
Immediate Year 1 nickel/sub-package free safety who can eventually develop into a full-time starting single-high safety due to his elite ball skills and instincts.
Man-heavy schemes that demand consistent isolation man coverage against shifty slot receivers, exposing his average short-area burst and limited man-coverage ceiling.
Clark's exceptional anticipation and ball production make him an ideal fit for schemes that prioritize deep-field coverage and turnover creation, despite his limitations in play strength and short-area burst.
Bud Clark Highlights 🔥 | Welcome to the Seahawks
Game film cut-up of Bud Clark's TCU tape.
Bud Clark Highlights | Seattle Seahawks Safety
Game film cut-up of Bud Clark's TCU tape.
Seahawks S #9 Bud Clark injury play
Game film cut-up of Bud Clark's TCU tape.
This prospect is an instinctive single-high safety whose projection centers on his genuine ball production and ability to read the game. He offers immediate value as a Day-1 sub-package free safety with a clear path to becoming a full-time nickel or free-safety in a Cover-3 heavy scheme, driven by his natural feel for coverage and ability to create turnovers.
He emerged as a full-time free safety over three years, becoming the most reliable last line of defense. Throughout his career, he accumulated 13 interceptions and 20 pass breakups, highlighted by a 5-interception 2022 season and a 4-interception, 7-pass breakup senior year. He was often deployed as a post, split-safety, robber, and dime linebacker.
Evaluators were concerned with his size at the alley and whether his athletic profile would hold up if asked to play slot coverage. Despite these flags, the consensus positioned him as a smart, versatile Day-2 defender appreciated for his special teams volume, range in single-high, and signature bowl performance, ultimately leading to him being drafted 64th by the Seattle Seahawks.
- 01
Exceptional Ball Skills
Exceptional Ball Skills — Demonstrates exceptional ball skills at all three levels with 13 career interceptions and 20 pass breakups.
- 02
Play Anticipation
Play Anticipation — Anticipates plays effectively by reading quarterback eyes and driving on throws, allowing him to play faster.
- 03
Range from Post
Range from Post — Shows good range from the post safety position, gaining width and depth quickly to finish plays.
- 04
Scheme Versatility
Scheme Versatility — Offers scheme versatility, having played multiple roles such as post, split-safety, and robber.
- 05
Special Teams Impact
Special Teams Impact — Possesses a strong special teams background as a four-year gunner and vise on coverage units.
- 01
Lacks Ideal Frame
Lacks Ideal Frame — Lacks ideal frame and play strength, occasionally getting walled off by linemen in run support.
- 02
Tackle Finish
Tackle Finish — Tackle finishes against larger bodies often involve wrapping and slowing, allowing yards after contact.
- 03
Average Burst
Average Burst — Exhibits merely average short-area burst, with functional but not explosive change-of-direction ability.
- 04
Limited Man Coverage
Limited Man Coverage — Man-coverage ceiling is limited, not a natural press-slot defender, with inconsistent isolated reps.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.41sp50
- Vertical
- —in
- Broad jump
- —in
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | TCU | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | TCU | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | TCU | 15 | 27 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 2023 | TCU | 12 | 30 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 2024 | TCU | 12 | 68 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | TCU | 11 | 56 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| Career | — | 68 | 194 | 1 | 15 | 19 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Instinctive single-high defender with steady ball production and Cover-3 range; nickel/free rotation grade rather than dime eraser.
Post safety who plays fast because he reads QB shoulder and finishes at the catch point without elite testing numbers.
Ball-hawk safety whose frame and pursuit angles slot him into sub-package and special teams before he wins a full-time job.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
**Pre-draft context** Bud Clark was the connective tissue of TCU's secondary through the Sonny Dykes era and the transition into Kendal Briles' 2024–25 staff. A four-star from Alexandria, Louisiana who redshirted in 2020, he grew from special-teams gunner into the Frogs' full-time free safety and finished with 68 games, 237 tackles, 13 interceptions and 20 pass breakups. His draft stock is inseparable from a January 2023 night in Glendale: two picks of J.J. McCarthy in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal, one returned 41 yards for the game's opening score. Scouts revisited that tape every fall, then watched him back it up with a four-INT senior year that included a pick-six and 7 PBUs. The Combine confirmed the frame concerns (6'1"/197) but the 4.41 forty quieted the pure-speed questions.
**NFL fit — Seattle Seahawks** Seattle picked Clark 64th to slot behind the veteran safety/nickel group with an eye on eventual free-safety succession. Seattle's defense leans on late rotations and disguised single-high looks; Clark's ability to open from the post and drive on the ball fits the coverage identity that that staff imported from Baltimore. Year one profiles as a heavy special-teams role — gunner and vise — plus dime and three-safety packages where he can play the deep third while Love bumps down. If Bryant slides into the star nickel long-term, Clark has a clear runway to full-time free safety by year two, especially against pass-heavy division opponents in a wide-open NFC West.
**Retrospective** Clark's evaluation was always a bet on instincts and ball production over frame and burst. The 2022 Fiesta Bowl gave the projection its ceiling; the four-year body of work — including a fifth-year answer to every "was that one game?" question — gave it a floor. The Seahawks pick reads as a scheme-specific hit on a player whose highest and lowest outcomes both include real NFL snaps.