LISTEN | Draft Pick Profile - Cameron Clark (5/18)

That's David Scott of the Charlotte Observer. But e A. Cam Clark was the third and final pick that the Jets had in the fourth round. Remember they had one twenty one, twenty nine, and Joe Douglas, true to his word, alects to add to the offensive line yet again. Yeah, so we go back to free agency and we think about Connor mcgover and Greg Van Roten, of course, George Fant at the tackle position, and Joe Douglass first all verall draft pick as general manager of the New York Jets.

Of course, McKay Beckton number eleven overall selection in the draft. And then he continues to add to the offensive line in the fourth round with an interesting player in Cameron Clark. Because Clark is a guy who played tackle at the collegiate level. A lot of people who you have heard speak about him think that actually down the line, maybe he projects more on the interior. But again, it kind of fits the criteria of a Joe Douglas type player is he's got a mean streak, he plays nasty, uh,

and he has position flexibility. So Joe Douglas never was rested on his laurels with that offensive line and he continued, uh, he continued to work on it here on draft weekend with the addition to Clark and Cam Clark talking about fitting the bill of the criteria of what Joe Douglas wants two times captain for Charlotte, So clearly another guy that adds to this fabric of the culture that Joe Douglas is trying to establish here. And let's hear from Joe doug Ion his staff on what they like about

Cam Clark. Yeah, big Cam brings mentality, toughness, leadership. When we talk about grit, when we talk about guys that's strained to finish every play, that's big Camp. One of our scouts that he was. He was a high school oh American at center. So a guy you're talking about versatility flexibility when we feel like he's a guy that could give us that kind of flexibility moving forward and

the right type of person and competitor as well. So we see him as being able to have the versatility of play both tackle positions in terms of a swing role. And then he's also shown traits for a guard in terms of his physicality and finish that projects inside. He's got a good size, he's got a good ability to play balanced and stay balanced within a play that will help inside if he needs to move inside the guard for us. So he's showed the traits to be able

to handle both guard and tackle for us. Yeah, I think with Cam. You know, our scouts who saw him in the fall had solid grades on him. And then he was another player that was at the East West Shrine game and we interviewed him a number of times. But I think what we really like about him the most is the fact that he's versatile. Even though he's played left tackle in college, he's lined up as a

right tackle. He even played offensive center in high school, so he may give us three position flexibility in terms of center, guard, and tackle, with the upside to perhaps

becoming a starter. One of his college coaches, you know, they had a lot of different staffs there, and especially in that offensive line room at Charlotte, but one of his former coaches was on our staff with the Arizona hot Shots last year when I was part of the Alliance of American Football, and he really thought the world of Cam Clark in terms of his potential in the NFL. And again, another player that adds to the sort of

the fabric of our team. There will obviously obviously be an adjustment in terms of the height, weight and speed of some of the guys that he will be going against. But you know, he played against Clemson in his career, He played against Tennessee in his career, so there were glimpses of him going against higher level competition and he was clearly a player that belonged at another level in terms of his college career. I mean that that's the thing.

You know, we watched these games on Sunday nights and Monday nights Oftentimes, when the guys give the starting lineup and they announced the school that they're from, there are a lot of players from places like Charlotte in southern Mississippi and Grand Valley State and places that you know

typically aren't football factories. And I think one of the real benefits have taken a player like a Cam Clark or even a James Morgan from f i U is the fact that you know they figured out how to maximize their potential at that level in regards to nutrition, strengthen can aiually working on the field without having every bell and whistle that you'll find at some of the

major schools that are essentially football factory. So I love that dynamic of some of these players and that they've had to figure some of this stuff out on their own without having everything laid out for him. Over the last three or four years, lots of great stuff from Joe Douglas, Rex Hogan and Phil Savage is always e when you look at Cam Clark's career at Charlotte, I

mean something that stands out to me. How often do you see a guy that plays on the old line ends up being the offensive team m v P. How often, I'd say, I've never heard of that before ever on the collegiate level. That jumps out at everybody when you're going through somebody's bio, and in two thousand seventeen he's the offensive team on PP So that kind of gives you an indication of how highly regarded he was on campus.

And then in two thousand eighteen and two thousand nineteen, like you said, a team captain, and he was a left tackle last couple of seasons. What started twelve games at left tackle in two thousand and eighteen and a thirteen more at left tackle. All Conference USA First Team Performer, last year Intangibles with the captain accolaides one of the most decorated players ever to play at Charlotte. So cam

Clark is a four year starter at left tackle. And we heard Joe Douglas and Phil Savage talk about this a little bit, but in high school, cam Clark actually played center as well in addition to left tackles, so while in college he only played left tackle. It's been a little while since cam Clark has played anywhere else except that position. But when you talk about position versatility at the next level, the fact that cam Clark has the first satility to play either tackle position and set

and potentially either guard. I mean Phil Savage said this when we heard him say he offers for position versatility for the Jets. I think that's very rare, and to take a fire on a guy like this in the fourth round, I think it makes a whole lot of sense for the Jets. Yeah, Clark played forty nine games at Charlotte. The last thirty one were consecutive starts at left tackle to end his college career. And you mentioned

the position flexibility. Uh, smaller school Charlotte, But a lot of people thought he stepped up and was able to play well when Charlotte matched up with Cleanson one side of the fair fifty two to ten. But scouts are looking at the individual prospects and I think he jumped on people's radar the way he played there. So he's a long guy, he has more ability to put on some more weight. At say, last year he's playing under

three pounds. I know what the combine he was, what three oh seven or three oh eight, But he has more wait possibly to put on that frame, especially if you're gonna move him inside the guard position. And again, he's walking into a good situation because Cam Clark walks into a situation where he doesn't have to be a starter, right away, but Greens, if you draft somebody in the fourth round, there's no doubt about it. The Jets ultimately view this guy as a starter down the line. So

let me just read some of his measurables here. When you talk about hand size and you talk about wingspan, well, let me just compare this to McKay Beckton. McKay Beckton has ten and three quarters hands along with a eighty three and a quarter inch wingspan. And then you think about a guy like Cameron Clark. His hands are myths. Okay, they're eleven inch hands, which is bigger than McKay act and and his wingspan is eighty two and three quarters long.

So he might not be the six seven three d sixty four pound monster that McKay Beckton is, But Cam Clark offers a lot of good measurables that stand up to a pro tackle or potentially a pro guard in

the NFL long arms tough. One thing that you're gonna watch out for early in his career is to see if he is on the edge and he's playing the tackle position, is how does he deal with the speed of the edge rushers in the National Football League And how is he going to adapt in terms of his feet, those are things that Cam Clark is going to be working on early on in his career. But in terms of upper body strength, people really like where he's at.

And also he's considered a prospect who's pretty polished. He's a guy who understands the way defend is how they're trying to attack. When you're talking about Cam Clark who trained with McKay Beckton in the off season in Dallas, and those two kinds of fed off each other, I think that's just a great backstory because little did those guys know that they would be joining the same team just weeks or months later. For more on Clark, let's hear from Olivia land Is, who caught up with David Scott,

who covers Charlotte for the Charlotte Observer. David, the New York Jets drafted offensive lineman Cameron Clark in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. You have covered him for a while now. He's only one of two players out of Charlotte that was drafted this season. What makes him so special, Well, Olivia, he's been a guy who's been with the program obviously for five years, was with the program for five years and and really progressed UM as as his career one a law kind of like the

program did. Charlotte's only had a football team for seven years, so he was one of the first couple of recruiting classes at the school even had so when he came in, he was he was more of a FCS kind of prospect rather than an FBS guy UM and so he made a whole lot of progress going going through his career, as did the program, which had their first winning season in school history last year and went to a bowl game for the first year. So he kind of mirrored

what's been happening at Charlotte. UM took great leaps his senior year and new coaching staff, new offensive coordinator, UM, offensive line coach who was the same guy UM, and he really UM managed to h to bloom under that. Speaking of development, this was a team and an offense that was ranked his conference USA's top offense in twenty nineteen. How did Cameron Clark contribute to that? Well, he the the the offense changed when Will Healey, the new coach,

came in. Obviously, UM they ran more of a spread type of offense UM shotgun UM formations. Most of the time, so he had to be really They had mobile quarterback name of kid named Chris Reynolds who who could really move around in the pocket and make things happen with his arm and his legs. So the offensive line had to um be mobile and be able to move around, and Cam was able to do that as as a tackle.

Um And I think that's one thing that will probably help him in in the NFL if they move him to guard like they say they might because of his size. He's got the food work and has the ability and the agility to move around. Um And, I think that's going to help him. But yeah, Charlotte's. Charlotte's offense was kind of a spread um um offense with the quarterback

who was really mobile and could move around. And so when your pockets moving around like that, that's a challenge for the offensive line, and Can was one of the guys who was able to really take advantage of that, not take advantage of it, but adjust to it and and do it well. David actually spoke with Cameron after he got drafted, and he kind of voiced what you were just talking about about how he's very versatile along the line, But where do you see him being best

suited along the offensive line at the next level. Well, that's hard for me to say, but I think what I've heard and makes sense is is he probably doesn't have a size for an NFL tackle right now. UM, a guard might make more sense for him. Um that that happened last year with the forty Niners had had a player named Nate Davis who was drafted and he was a tackle um in college, was drafted by the Titans,

is now their starting right guard. I think there's a lot of similarities between the two of them, and I think that's probably what will happen because he's got the skills, he's got the footwork, He certainly has the intellect that he could probably change up positions, but has at the size issue, it sounds like moving to the guard makes

most sense. Well, when we think about his size, and you think when we talk about where he might be best suited along the lines, when you look at his skill set, is he more developed in pass protection or the run blocking game? Probably pass protection. Their run they they run blocking. They had a great running back and kidney named Benny LeMay And again a lot of the

times when they used him. UM, it was out of a spread formation, shotgun kind of thing, and so it wasn't you get traditional, um, you know, line them up and knock them down kind of things. So Cam is not probably used to that as much as he used to being able to move around the pass protecting thing. He had to. He had to do a lot of things differently because of the kind of style offensive the

offense they played. So I think he's probably more ready for that with his agility, UM, footwork, how he uses his hands, UM, and you know he's gonna have to probably bulk up and get a little stronger to really to help out in the running game more. He didn't play against a lot of top top competition throughout his career. UM in confidence usa UM. The one thing that that

you can say for him. And a couple of the other guys who got drafted by Charlotte Alex Heismith the defensive end, and then lay who I was telling you about, who signed an undrafted free agent. They played Clemson back in September when they were ranked number one, and and those guys, I mean, obviously they wanted to win the game, um, which which they were not able to. Obviously, it was

like fifty five to ten or something. But they wanted to use that game as an opportunity to show that they could play well in as individuals against top competition. And I think he was able to do that and and I think that's one thing that's going to help him his confidence as he moves to the NFL to the next level, knowing that he can line up against the best players in the country, UM and hold his

own And he did that against against Clemson. Diving a little bit deeper into Cameron Clark as an individual, he was the offensive m v P, the team offensive MVP in ten, which is very rare for an offensive lineman. But how does that speak to his ability and his leadership on that team? Just just a great kid. Um. You know, as a reporter, you you look who you always want to have a guy who can go to for a good quota to explain things to you, UM,

And and Cam was that guy. Um. He kind of has one of these magnetic kind of personalities that draw people to him. He was one of the players that came to the press conferences, UM more often than not, chosen by the coaches that come and speak to the media. And you know, really articulate, funny. Um always had a good take on things. So I think that's one thing that Jessy are going to get from him as is a guy Um who I think people are going to really be drawn to, and I think he can really

mold himself into being one of the team's leaders. He ain't. Now let's talk about where Clark fits in with this offensive line, and we've mentioned his position versatility before well from a thirty thousand foot view, when you add McKay, Beckton and Cameron Clark to the mix of what Joe Douglas already did in free agency. But really, I think what stands out is the versatility of all of the

players that Joe Douglas has brought in. It's just so much more solidified than two thousand nineteen last season that Jets started eleven different players up front, nine different starting line combinations. You knew Joe Douglas was going to emphasize the offensive line in the off season. He's done just that, and we can work our way from left to right if you want. Because McKay backed in, you know he's gonna play one of those tackle positions. Is gonna be

left tackle or right tackle. Who knows George Bant he is the bill need to play both and he did just that in Seattle Chuma Adoga. He's a guy I think you play on either side. And then you had Cameron Clark to the mix, and then on the interior got Jonathan Harrison, Connor McGovern. Both of those guys can play center, but they can play guard. Greg Van Rotten, Alex Lewis, Brian Winners is still on the roster. You have those guys all on the interior, so you have

position flexibility, you have depth. Joe Douglas and made no bones about it, the best five are going to play. So with that being said, I don't think we should and make it too caught up in while is he gonna be left guard, right guard, whatever, Joe Douglas is going to get his best five out there on the field. You know Beckton's going to be a tackle. You know fans going to be a tackle. But in Cameron Clark's case,

it's how can you help you adopt? Why is early on and where is he going to fit in early on in his NFL career? Is it on the inside or is it potentially at right tackle? Like you mentioned at the start of the podcast, just because he played left tackle Charlotte does not mean that the Jets aren't going to start him actually on the right side to begin his NFL career. Yeah, I think really what stands out, and I want to reiterate that I agree with you, we're not going to project who will play at what

spot across the starting five. But I think really what stands out with all the versatility and the players that were brought in, is that if something happened like last year, the injury bug really hit the offensive line. But if something like that were to happen this year, I think the Jet would be in a much better spot because of the background of all these players that we've mentioned

and the versatility that they have to offer. Where for example, last year, Brandon Shell, who has never played left tackle in his pro career, had to switch from the right side to the left side, and then Chuma Adoga, who had been a right tackle at USC, ended up playing some left tackle. Last year, there were so many moving

pieces for the Jets. But I think that if something happened this year where somebody got hurt, the transition would be a little more seamless because that player and theory would have already had experience on the pro level at that position. I agree, because that's the way Joe Douglas is building this thing. It's he's very strategic. Yeah, he wants to get better in the starting lineup, but he

has to provide depth as well. You never want to go through another season again if you're Joe Douglas where you do have nine different offensive line combinations. And he said he was gonna embrace Sam Donald. He definitely has done that. Now where you're setting yourself up is Sam Donald is going to have potentially more time to throw, and also Lean was gonna have more holes in the run game. And finally that's also gonna set up your play action game. So a lot of things working in

the jets favor right now. Now. The challenge, Ethan is how quickly can these guys come together because this is an unprecedented offseason and the Jets have gone through a

virtual offseason program. And while it's been beneficial and while those guys are trying to get acclimated with each other, there's so many new pieces here and it's going to be a challenge because the Jets this spring won't have the opportunity to be on the field together and the offensive line, as you know, it's all about coesion and

continuity and how quickly can these guys get up to speed. Yeah, I think the last point is really important here, because when you talk to different guys, whether it's Sam Donald or even somebody like George Fan who we recently caught up with, they're all saying, well, yeah, you know, I'm trying to reach out to the players and the new teammates,

and the options are just kind of limited. I mean, it's basically like trying to catch up with your friend who lives across the country and you're limited to text or phone call or FaceTime. But the only difference here is for the majority of the players, especially on the offensive line, everybody's meeting each other for the first time. And that's including Sam Donald. And even when you think

about the playmakers, that's a whole other story. So I think it's gonna be very interesting not only for the Jets, but really the entire league and kind of see what the ripple effect of that is. And the long story short here is that with the Cameron Clark addition, the Jets offensive line basically has another tool to play with, and that they're in a better spot than they were

when they drafted McKay Peckton. And they're in a totally different spot than where they were before the draft, and even different spot to where they were compared to the end of the two thousand nineteen season. But Joe Douglas, like I said in the beginning of the podcast, days true to his word. He adds to the offensive line two times in the draft, and then he signs Jared Hilber's who played tackle for the Washington Huskies in the undrafted free agent process. So this line's gonna look very

much different in twenty twenty, no matter who's starting. And like you said, the best five will be on the field come Week one. And that was another edition of the Official Jets podcast, the Draft Pick Profile series presented by Verizon Rolling On Here. Next up, Bryce Hall out of Virginia