‘Dream Come to Reality’: Certified Ball Hawk Bud Clark Hyped to Join Seahawks’ Star-Studded Defense
RENTON, Wash. - Growing up during the peak of the Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl years under coach Pete Carroll, like many youngsters with dreams to play in the NFL down the road in the mid-2010s, Bud Clark idolized the vaunted “Legion of Boom” secondary.
Emerging as a top recruit at Alexandria Senior High School in Louisiana, Clark aimed to model his game after one of the esteemed members of that illustrious, star-studded defensive backfield, desiring to bring the physical tenacity Kam Chancellor once did inflicting pain on opponents to more than earn the nickname “Bam Bam.” After briefly committing to Virginia, he took his talents to Forth Worth, joining an always tough TCU program instead, looking to make a similar impact to his idol.
Six years later, Clark will now get to don the same blue and action green that Chancellor once rocked in the Pacific Northwest, seeing a “dream come to reality” landing with his desired team as the 64th overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft.
“I feel absolutely amazing,” Clark told reporters moments after receiving the draft call, excitedly talking at a speed of light pace during his conference call. “I’ve been wanting to play for them [Seattle] for the longest [time]. I had one of my cousins, he spoke it up on me and I feel like it was a home for me when I came out there, so it’s been a dream.”
Making an official visit to the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in early April, Clark hasn’t stopped talking about the beauty of the Emerald City ever since, including the sight of bald eagles, something that he’s not accustomed to seeing in Texas or Louisiana. But the fit in coach Mike Macdonald’s defense has been apparent for far longer simply watching him shine between the lines.
While Clark may have gravitated to Chancellor’s style as “the hammer, not the nail” and hoped to emulate his strengths as a key ingredient of his game, it can be argued that his game far more closely resembled that of Earl Thomas, the other safety lynchpin in the Legion of Boom who roamed center field for nearly a decade. Once he got past a patch of tough luck on the injury front in his first two seasons on campus at TCU, he went on an incredible run creating turnovers in bunches, giving quarterbacks nightmares in the Big 12.
Functioning like a magnet in the secondary, Clark posted ridiculous ball production numbers for the Horned Frogs from 2022 to 2025, intercepting 15 passes - a total that Seahawks general manager John Schneider joked could have been even higher, something they will give the player “crud” about once he arrives on site - and adding 20 pass breakups for good measure. Two of those interceptions generated points on the scoreboard as pick sixes, showcasing his ability to spark fireworks once the ball is in his hands.
Though he didn’t get many chances to blitz, Clark excelled when TCU decided to send him after the quarterback, including turning four rush attempts into four pressures and a sack last season.
Clark managed to amass those numbers stuffing the stat sheet while playing a variety of roles for the Horned Frogs, finishing his fantastic college career with over 500 defensive snaps as a free safety and slot cornerback as well as lined up in the box, moving all over the formation with the positional flexibility and interchangeability that coach Mike Macdonald covets on the back end.
“I feel like I’m versatile and I’m a ball hawk,” Clark said of his game. “I’m getting to the ball every chance I get. I compete and I’m a competitor, always.”
As for Clark’s tackling, consistency has been a bit more evasive. Built with a lean 190-pound frame, he demonstrates the want to that made Chancellor a fan favorite, flying around the field with the goal of making an impact beyond his coverage savvy. With that said, he did miss 39 tackles at TCU, including a not-so-ideal 27.5% missed tackle rate in 2023. His technique can get away from him at times, diving for the lower legs of ball carriers or seeking a big hit with a shoulder rather than breaking down and wrapping up.
Going against NFL talent in the rugged NFC West, that won’t cut it, and Macdonald and the rest of Seattle’s coaching staff will have to work diligently coaching him up to achieve better consistency on that front. On the plus side, Clark racked up 215 combined tackles during his time in Fort Worth, and he cut his missed tackle rate to 7.7% in 2024, finishing off his share of plays as a run defender and bringing down receivers in space.
The best part? Even if he needs technical refinement, the Seahawks won’t have to worry about Clark’s mindset, which sits exactly where they want it with a hyper-competitive, yet disciplined playing style and great coachability.
Beyond his talents between the lines, Clark checked off one more massive box for what Macdonald and Schneider desire from future Seahawks that led to his second round selection. As a three-time captain at TCU and a young father, he brings leadership, humility, and maturity to the equation, which should make him an outstanding fit meshing with a tight-knit locker room.
“It meant a lot,” Clark said of being voted a captain multiple times. “I feel like my peers looked up to me and I felt like I was approachable to everybody. I tried to get to know everybody and know everybody’s lives just to understand who you are as a person. And I called you by your name, not by anything else.”
Those traits coupled with his ambitious spirit should also serve Clark well as he begins his NFL journey joining arguably the deepest, most talented secondary in the NFL. Throughout the pre-draft process, Schneider emphasized the need to bring the right competitors on board who weren’t going to be caught flat-footed idolizing Super Bowl winners and will be ready to gun for playing time, believing that was one of the pitfalls for the organization in the drafts after making trips to the big game in 2013 and 2014.
Even with Devon Witherspoon, Julian Love, Nick Emmanwori, and others around him, Clark won’t be fazed by the pressure that comes with battling in a crowded, star-laden position group.
Bringing a wealth of experience with him against top college competition to the league, Clark should be poised to come on board and carve out a significant role alongside Witherspoon, Love, and company early, with Macdonald and Schneider both hinting that he’ll be more than just a safety upon arrival with sights on moving him around. Regardless of how his role ends up being defined in Seattle’s secondary, he’s ready for whatever the coaching staff throws at him, eager to etch out his own chapter as the latest do-it-all defensive back to thrive in the Pacific Northwest.
“It’s a blessing. A dream come true. I get to help those boys in every way that I can.”
