The New York Jets recently signed former Notre Dame defensive back Jordan Clark as an undrafted free agent. Today we break Clark down in detail.
The 24-year old Clark is listed at 5’9” and 184 pounds. He was an honorable mention all-PAC 12 selection in one of his five seasons with Arizona State. He transferred to Notre Dame last season and started eight games as the Fighting Irish reached the national title game.
Background
Clark was undersized as a high school recruit and then had an injury ahead of his final season, so he was only a three star recruit and ultimately accepted a scholarship at Arizona State.
During his first season in 2019, he barely played, registering five tackles in two games. However, he started two games in 2020 and had 16 tackles and two pass breakups.
His role grew in 2021, although he again only started two games. He ended the season with 21 tackles and his first career interception.
2022 was a breakout year for Clark, who started nine games and had 47 tackles with career highs for tackles for loss (three) and interceptions (two, one of which he returned for a touchdown). He would earn all-PAC 12 honorable mention recognition at the end of the season.
In 2023, he started 10 times and had a career high 50 tackles. He was also third in the PAC-12 with nine pass breakups.
At the end of the 2023 season, Clark opted to transfer to Notre Dame and played a significant role on their team as they made a run to the national title game. He started eight of 16 games and had 37 tackles, five pass breakups and an interception.
Having not been invited to the NFL scouting combine or the Senior Bowl, Clark participated in Shrine Bowl week but did not play in the game. He was not widely expected to be selected in April.
After Clark went undrafted, the Jets signed him to an undrafted free agency deal with $170K guaranteed.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Clark brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Clark is undersized, with short arms and small hands. However, the question is whether he is athletic enough to play cornerback at the NFL level.
Some sites were listing Clark as a safety after he only ran 4.64 at his pro day and posted poor agility numbers. However, the Jets continue to list him as a cornerback. He would obviously be small for a safety.
His other pro day numbers were good, as he had a 36.5-inch vertical, 124-inch broad jump and 18 bench press reps.
Usage
In terms of his experience, Clark primarily played as a slot cornerback in college. However, he started a couple of games at free safety in 2022 when there were injuries and found himself following a man in motion out wide, contributing in the box, ranging deep or coming up to the edge at various times.
Coverage skills
Clark’s coverage numbers over the course of his career were solid and he showed an improvement over his career numbers in his final season. He entered that year having given up a catch on 66.4 percent of his targets with nine touchdowns and a 10.3 yards per catch average, so it was encouraging to see him just give up a 63.0 percent catch rate, one touchdown and 9.1 yards per catch at Notre Dame.
He actually posted his best coverage numbers in 2022, though, as quarterbacks had a 41.9 quarterback rating when targeting him in man coverage (13th in the nation) and a completion percentage of just 40 when targeting him in Cover-0 or Cover-1 defenses (23rd).
Since he is often at a size disadvantage, this puts pressure on Clark to stay close enough to his man that he can contest throws.
It’s when he gives up too much cushion or hesitates and has to try to recover that Clark can sometimes be exploited.
He didn’t give up a lot of downfield throws in his career, as he only allowed two 40-yard passes and they were on short throws with yardage after the catch.
Ball skills
Clark made plenty of plays on the ball during his career, with 22 pass breakups and four interceptions. He has good closing speed, awareness and competitiveness at the catch point.
One thing he needs to work at is not getting himself into positions where he can’t turn his head to locate the ball and make a play on it.
Tackling
Clark doesn’t have great size or a big tackle radius, but his closing speed is good and he takes good angles to the ball. His missed tackle count was into double figures in 2022 and 2023 though.
In 2024, he didn’t have any missed tackles in 13 of the 16 games, which is a good sign he has been focusing on improving his tackle efficiency. He still had seven in the other three games, so his overall missed tackle rate was only slightly better than in those previous two seasons.
He did not have a forced fumble in his collegiate career.
Run defense
Despite his lack of size, Clark is a willing run defender who makes good contributions in the box and shows good discipline on the edge.
His run defense production was down slightly with Notre Dame but he missed fewer tackles and was more efficient overall, as evidenced by his run defense grade from analysis site Pro Football Focus, which was the best of his career.
He had nine tackles for loss in his career.
Physicality
Although he is undersized, Clark has a tenacious and aggressive approach to his role. However, there can be times where he is overwhelmed by a bigger player at the catch-point or when faced with a blocker or ball carrier in space.
Clark will get his hands on his man in press coverage to disrupt the release also has some good hitting ability, which he showcased on this play.
He had two defensive holding penalties in 2024, but none for pass interference or illegal contact.
Blitzing
Clark didn’t blitz much in his first four seasons, but did it a couple of times per game over the past two. However, he didn’t record a sack or knockdown.
On this play, he showed good speed to flush the quarterback from the pocket as he came off the edge unblocked and almost ended up with a turnover.
Special teams
Clark will need to prove to the Jets he can contribute on special teams if he is to challenge for a roster spot, because it’s not an area that he has much experience in.
He’s rushed kicks and played sparingly as a vice or gunner, but he’s only covered kickoffs or played on the return units a few times.
He didn’t generate any production in his limited work covering punts although he did miss a couple of tackles.
He did get in on the tackle on a pooch punt by Cam Skattebo, who did some directional punting for the Sun Devils in 2023. However, he didn’t get statistical credit for that play as there were other players in on the tackle.
Instincts/Intelligence
Clark is a student of the game, who obviously played a variety of roles at Arizona State and Notre Dame. He takes pride in his ability to break down film and shows good play recognition at times.
He’s not immune to blown assignments, as he over pursued or was caught peeking into the backfield at times, and he was involved in this blown coverage that led to a big play.
He jumped offside once in 2024.
Attitude
Clark is the son of former Steelers defensive back Ryan Clark, so he has a good foundation in terms of how to be prepared, disciplined and hard working. He also has a good personality, character and a team-first attitude.
There was an incident last season where he headbutted an opponent, costing his team 15 yards and ultimately three points in a competitive game. He could also have been ejected.
Apparently, he was retaliating to an opposing player spitting in his face, although his only comments on the incident after the game were that he was wrong to do what he did and it shouldn’t have happened.
Otherwise, Clark’s on-field discipline was solid with just 11 defensive penalties in his career.
Injuries
During his college career, the most impactful injury Clark had to deal with was a quad injury that bothered him in 2023, causing him to miss a couple of games and limiting him in others. He was also knocked out of the national title game last year with an undisclosed injury.
Before his career got underway, his recruiting process was disrupted because he missed most of the following football season after breaking his ankle during a basketball game.
Scheme Fit
One of the reasons Clark decided to go to Arizona State was because they play a 3-3-5 base, so he felt there would be more opportunities to play early on with five defensive back roles.
As noted, he has mostly played nickel back but has experience at safety. As for his role with the Jets, he could be a tweener who is too small to play safety and not athletic enough to play corner, but he’ll probably start off at cornerback and aim to show he plays faster than his timed speed.
It’s interesting to compare him to Michael Carter II, who is basically the same size. Carter played safety in college but nickel back with the Jets, while Clark could feasibly become a college nickel that ends up as an NFL safety. The difference between them is that Carter’s measurables were outstanding, including a sub-4.4 in the 40-yard dash.
Conclusions
The Jets don’t have a lot of quality depth at the safety position, but Clark is still a long-shot to make the roster as he competes with some other young prospects for a spot.
His guaranteed money was pretty good, which is usually a sign that he has a good chance at a practice squad spot, and he has obviously learned all about how to be a professional from his father, so he’ll be someone who is good to have around in the locker room and on the practice field no matter what.