Jaylen Clark’s path to playing time in the 2025-26 season comes with proving that he can be a strong perimeter defender. Sure, the Timberwolves would love for Clark to come close to replicating the 43.1% 3-point shooting he exhibited last season (albeit on just 51 attempts), but the opportunity is there to be the top wing defender off the bench that was previously held by Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Clark turned to the NFL to study Patrick Surtain II and other defensive backs this offseason.
Jaylen Clark studies the NFL's Patrick Surtian
Dane Moore, an insider for the Minnesota Timberwolves, was around for the Timberwolves’ media day on Monday. He asked the 23-year-old Clark (turns 24 on October 13) about how he studies defense during the summer offseason. While some players may mention studying some of the all-time great wing defenders, such as Scottie Pippen, Kawhi Leonard, or Bruce Bowen, Clark instead brought up a different sport.
Asked Jaylen Clark how he goes about studying defense in the summer, and he said he watched a lot of Patrick Surtain film.
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) September 29, 2025
(And I know that doesn’t sound like it makes sense, but Clark had a great answer about how watching DB film is actually relevant. I’ll post the full clip…
Surtain II of the NFL’s Denver Broncos is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Over the course of last season, he committed just 9 penalties (8 accepted) in his 16 outings. While Clark didn't necessarily play a ton of minutes, he did commit 4.2 fouls per 36 minutes. With more playing time, that could become problematic if not corrected.
Jaylen Clark says he’s been studying NFL DB film to try to come up with ideas about defending high level scorers without fouling. Pat Surtain was a name he shouted out
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) September 29, 2025
The similarities between an NFL defensive back and an NBA wing defender are present. At times, the defender can be stuck on an island with the opposing player they are guarding and must do their best to keep them in front of them while not allowing there to be too much separation. If they are beat, they must remain hopeful that a safety or rim protector is there to help out, but that certainly won’t always be the case.
While Clark’s using NFL defensive backs to help him study how to improve on defense in the NBA is unorthodox, there is a pathway where it can be successful as well.
Metrics were fond of his defense last season
Selected in the second round (53rd overall) in the 2023 NBA Draft, the 6-foot-5 Clark missed his entire first season due to an Achilles injury. Last season, he appeared in 40 games and posted averages of 4.1 points and 1.3 rebounds in 13.1 minutes. As mentioned, Clark was a very accurate 3-point shooter, which he will need to prove won’t be an outlier, as he shot just 30.2% from beyond the arc in his three years at UCLA.
It was more so because of his presence on the defensive end that got him drafted in 2023. Last season, Clark finished with an excellent defensive box plus/minus of 2.7. That was the best on the Timberwolves for any player that saw at least 500 minutes of action.
It’s definitely a stretch to say that Clark can win Defensive Player of the Year like Surtain did in the NFL. He’s not going to see enough playing time to ever even be in consideration. If he shows further growth on that end though, perhaps other players will take notice and follow Clark’s lead in studying some of the great defensive backs in the NFL for defensive pointers in the NBA.