The Kansas City Chiefs relied heavily on Tyrann Mathieu and Justin Reid during their prime Super Bowl years. The team’s current collection of safeties lacks that caliber of diverse and impactful talent. Fortunately, the 2026 NFL Draft features as many as 11 safeties capable of earning top 100 grades.
TCU safety Bud Clark is an older prospect. He spent six years with the Horned Frogs, serving as a starter for the final four and a team captain for the last three. Clark is a true alpha. His competitive nature and fiery mentality turned heads at the Senior Bowl and lit a fire under his teammates, even though most of them only met a few days before practices. He is the type of player who changes the culture and outlook of a position group.
Clark is far from perfect. He’s a third or fourth round-caliber prospect with a lean frame and durability concerns. He checks the box in most areas of his game but doesn’t stand out as elite in any singular category, except for ball production. Clark intercepted four passes this past season and scored his second career pick-six. He had three or more interceptions in each year as a starter.
Most interceptions from 2022-2025 (FBS)1. Bud Clark - 152. Xavier Watts - 133. Nohl Williams - 12 pic.twitter.com/YLuVy2VdBj
Clark is a rangy safety with the explosive athletic traits to cover ground quickly and make plays outside the numbers. This allows him to operate in single-high and two-high coverage shells. Clark is an instinctive ballhawk who baits quarterbacks into poor throws and uses his anticipation and closing burst to poach passes.
Clark’s aggression and quick trigger are double-edged swords. He bites on some misdirection and routes fakes, opening opportunities for downfield completions. His physical style and inconsistent comfort in close coverage also raise penalty concerns when isolated against wide receivers.
The good usually outweighs the bad when it comes to Clark’s work in coverage. He has a PhD in zone and developed his awareness to amazing levels throughout college. Clark’s speed prevents receivers from beating him in a foot race, and he possesses the burst to recover late in plays after giving up an initial step or two.
Clark excels at the catch point. He rakes the receiver’s hands to force the ball out and times his attack well to give the receiver little time to adjust. Clark takes steep angles in run defense and misses too many diving tackles, but he’s a ready and willing run defender who fires downhill like a torpedo. He delivers some powerful hits and goes for the peanut punch to strip the ball.
This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: 2026 NFL Draft scouting report: TCU Horned Frogs S Bud Clark