‘I Haven’t Played With A D-Tackle Like That My Whole Career’: Kenny Clark On Building Chemistry With Quinnen Williams

OXNARD, Calif. — Kenny Clark said the Dallas Cowboys defense has gotten better at every practice of training camp, and that the group has to turn its current energy into a habit.

Clark is going through his first camp with Dallas, and he is doing it in the state where he grew up. He was born in San Bernardino, California, played high school football at Carter in Rialto, and spent three college seasons at UCLA. Clark has been able to stay close to home during camp and get treatment and workouts from his personal staff.

Through a week and a half in Oxnard, Clark has seen the energy and the confidence show up every single day.

“I think we’re getting better and better each and every practice,” Clark said. “I think the energy and the confidence is showing up every single day. We got to just keep on growing and just be consistent with that energy, be consistent with doing our jobs and doing everything the right way. Developing those habits, building those habits, just coming out here and doing that every day.”

Green Bay traded Clark to Dallas on Aug. 28, 2025, sending a 2026 first-round pick and a 2027 first-round pick along with him in exchange for edge rusher Micah Parsons. Clark arrived a week before the season opener and started all 17 games. He was the 27th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and has been to three Pro Bowls, most recently in 2023. Clark enters his 11th NFL season.

Kenny Clark On Quinnen Williams: ‘A Guy That’s Dominant Like That’

Dallas made a second trade at the position at the Nov. 4 deadline, acquiring Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets for a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick and defensive tackle Mazi Smith. Williams appeared in 15 games in 2025 between the two teams and finished with 2.5 sacks. He played seven of those games alongside Clark in Dallas.

Williams was the third overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft. He has made four straight Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro in 2022.

For a man his size, Williams bends and plays with leverage, Clark said, and Dallas needs him holding double teams so the linebackers can work over the top.

“He’s just a dog, man,” Clark explained. “He does things the right way, plays with great leverage. He’s a big guy and is able to be able to bend, got good ankle flexibility and all that kind of stuff, can play with his hands well. We’re going to need him to keep on holding those double teams, all the big guys for real, so we can have our linebackers skip over the top.”

Ten seasons in Green Bay put Clark alongside a lot of great players, but Williams is different.

“I haven’t played with a d-tackle like that my whole career,” Clark said. “I played with a lot of great players, but a guy that’s dominant like that at the defensive tackle position, he’s a great player. I’m looking forward to that, I hope they slide to him and I can get me some one-on-ones, and we do what it do.”

The chemistry is what Clark believes matters most right now. He wants to know what Williams is thinking on a rush so that neither one gets in the way of the other’s work.

“That’s the biggest thing is just growing that chemistry,” Clark said. “I want to know what he’s thinking. I don’t want to get in the way of his rushes or if he’s thinking about doing something, I don’t want to get in the way. When he’s getting in his one-on-ones, I’m going to let him eat, let him do his thing. Vice versa, and we just keep playing off each other.”

Dallas rebuilt the interior of its defensive line around the two of them. Otito Ogbonnia and Jonathan Bullard joined the group this offseason. Jay Toia, a 2025 seventh-round pick, is the only defensive tackle left from last year’s camp roster. LT Overton rounds out a room that first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker inherits.

Behind the two starters, Clark said Ogbonnia can play the two, the three, the four and the nose, and that Bullard can handle all three spots.

“That’s going to be huge,” Clark said. “[Otito Ogbonnia], [Jonathan] Bullard, [Jay Toia] and all those guys, LT [Overton], we’ve got a really good room, and a really good bunch of guys that’s been helping. [Ogbonnia] big, just big dude in there. The two, the four, the three and the nose, so he’s going to help us out a lot. Same thing with [Bullard], he can play all three positions. And they’ve played a lot of football, they’ve played in a lot of big games. We’re definitely going to need them later into the season.”

Kenny Clark Prefers Joint Practices To Preseason Snaps

Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer has said most of Dallas’ starters are unlikely to play in the preseason. Schottenheimer has also added conditioning runs after padded practices and scheduled two joint practices this summer.

Over 10 years, Clark believes the ramp-up itself has changed. He takes two days now, uses a recovery day, and goes hard on the last one.

The Cowboys finished 7-9-1 last season and missed the playoffs for the second straight year. Dallas hired Parker this offseason after moving on from Matt Eberflus. Parker is the third defensive coordinator the Cowboys have employed in three seasons.

Six snaps is what a player might get in a preseason game. Clark feels he has to get worked up for all six.

“I love joint practices,” Clark said. “I’m a big fan of them. I’d rather do the joint practices than the preseason. You get six plays, probably the most, in the preseason, and you got to get all riled up for those six plays. I’d rather get riled up and get a good 30, a good 40 or whatever how many we get, and get some good competition.”

Dallas practices again Sunday and takes a recovery day Monday. The Cowboys hold their joint practice against the Los Angeles Rams on Tuesday at Rams Village in Woodland Hills, California, then return to Oxnard for a practice Aug. 13.

Dallas opens the preseason Aug. 15 at the Seattle Seahawks, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. CT at Lumen Field. The second joint practice, against the New Orleans Saints, follows Aug. 18. The Cowboys play at the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 22 and close the preseason against New Orleans on Aug. 28 at AT&T Stadium. Teams must reach 53 players by 5 p.m. CT on Aug. 30.