The first Louisiana native came off the 2026 NFL Draft board Friday to wrap up the second round, and he’s heading to the reigning Super Bowl champions.
The Seattle Seahawks selected TCU safety Ja’Darius “Bud” Clark, the former Alexandria star, with the No. 64 overall pick in this year’s event.
He is the Trojans’ first former student-athlete chosen since the Jacksonville Jaguars took wide receiver D.J. Chark out of LSU in 2018.
Clark spent six college seasons in Fort Worth because of the COVID-waiver and then an injury the subsequent year.
He quickly became a top playmaker and leader for the Horned Frogs from there, though, on his way to 61 career games with 214 tackles, 15 interceptions, 35 passes defensed and multiple seasons selected as a team captain. The picks place him at No. 4 all-time in the program’s record books.
His team-leading five interceptions as a redshirt freshman in 2022 were the most for any TCU player since another Louisiana native, former Evangel Christian star Ar’Darius Washington, snatched a handful in 2019. And he led the team each of the next two years as well with three more picks each season before four this fall.
The 6-foot-1, 188-pound athlete then proceeded to skyrocket up draft boards with his strong workouts this spring, including a 4.41-second 40-yard dash, 10-foot-7-inch broad jump and 38-inch vertical leap at the NFL Combine last month.
BUD CLARK SCOUTING REPORTS
ESPN, via Scouts Inc.:
“Clark is a multiyear starter with extensive game experience. He shows good acceleration and range, covering a lot of ground and getting involved in plays downfield. As a safety with cornerback-esque cover skills, Clark gets in position to make plays on the ball, but could work on consistency following through. At times, he can widen out and get beaten with leverage by opening his hips and allowing free access. He plays physical and does a good job timing blitzes, but can shore up his tackling when working in run support.”
NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein:
“A sixth-year senior, Clark’s traits won’t pop but his tape most certainly will. Clark is a coverage-versatile safety in a cornerback’s body with the talent to range over the top or man up on the slot. He plays with an overriding desire to do everything all at once – which produces spectacular takeaways and occasional breakdowns – but the good outweighs the bad. He triggers downhill in run support and tackles with proper technique, but a lack of size could lead to broken tackles/durability concerns. He might need time to acclimate to the speed/skill of his opponents but his instincts and ball skills give him a good chance to punish mistakes on the next level as an alignment-flexible option.”