The Green Bay Packers don’t love to throw rookies, even top-100 picks, into the fire. So it’s impressive that the team listed two rookies as starters on their unofficial depth chart before this weekend’s preseason game against the Cleveland Browns.
Green Bay’s unofficial depth chart, which is a legally binding document, has first-round rookie Jordan Morgan at right guard and second-round safety Javon Bullard lining up across from new toy Xavier McKinney.
That second safety spot was a wide-open battle after the team rebuilt their safety room, but the best outcome was always Bullard being ready to make an early impact. The competition isn’t over yet; second-year Anthony Johnson Jr. and fellow rookie Evan Williams are also in contention and have seen plenty of time with the ones.
However, the former Georgia Bulldog is gaining the edge thanks to his versatility and championship experience. Bullard’s ability to play multiple roles in Jeff Hafley’s defense means that, regardless of whether he holds on to his starting spot, he’ll see plenty of playing time as a rookie.
Bullard quickly became a fan favorite thanks to his passionate response when Green Bay drafted him and equally fired-up interviews.
“I ain’t gonna lie, I don’t even like the word ‘comfortable,'” Bullard said earlier this off-season, garnering a great response from his head coach. “No disrespect, but I don’t really like that word. Especially in this profession, because the second you get comfortable, somebody’s got your job. And I don’t even have a job yet.”
“I think that just speaks to his level of maturity and obviously where he’s coming from at Georgia and the amount of competition that he’s had to face there,” LaFleur said. “I think that means a lot, but I think he’s showed a lot in a short period of time.”
That passion has translated onto the field, where it seems like every practice, Bullard is growing and learning how to play in Hafley’s defense.
His speed and ball skills have allowed him to be in the right position to make plays, and Bullard has been a solid tackler. He’s had many near interceptions (a Green Bay favorite), and he’ll be an electric playmaker once he learns to turn those from pass breakups to turnovers.
Bullard’s strong summer led to a stellar performance under the Lambeau Lights on Family Night. The rookie safety had three particularly great plays. The first came on a pass breakup on a third-and-six attempt from Love to Christian Watson. The second saw Bullard showing off his speed by keeping up with Jayden Reed in the slot on a downfield throw that Bullard almost intercepted. And Bullard finished strong on his final play, quickly breaking up a checkdown attempt from Love to Luke Musgrave thanks to his acceleration.
“You always have to play fast,” Bullard said following Family Night. “There’s only one way to play this game, and that’s fast and physical. I try to pride myself on that and try to make plays as much as I can.”
Xavier McKinney is locked in as one of the team’s starting safeties, and Bullard has gotten the other spot since Family Night.
Interestingly, despite being a starter, Bullard played fewer snaps at safety than Evan Williams. However, he had more snaps on the night thanks to lining up at nickelback.
Whenever the Packers brought primary slot corner Keisean Nixon to the boundary, Bullard got the edge at nickel. While Nixon likely won’t see as much time on the outside as long as the starting boundaries corners are healthy, it still showed off what they can do with their versatile young safety.
The safeties’ interchangeability, along with Hafley’s new scheme, gives Packers fans reason to be excited about the group for the first time in years.
“I mean, he can play the post, he can come down in the box, [Bullard] can jump in the nickel, he can do a lot of things, and he has done a lot of things in probably as close to a pro-style defense as there is,” Brian Gutekunst said after drafting Bullard. “So, yeah, he is a very versatile player. I think in our current situation, we’ll probably start him out at safety, but he’s versatile enough to do all the things we’re going to ask back there.”
While Bullard has been starting across from McKinney and is listed as the starter on the depth chart, Johnson Jr. is still seeing first-team snaps, and Evan Williams is making splash plays. But even if Bullard doesn’t hang on to a “starting” spot by Week 1, it’s safe to say he’ll see plenty of playing time. Playing in a pro-ready defense, having that kind of speed, and his ability to play different positions mean he’ll somehow find his way into the lineup
