Ahead of the 2024 season, Brian Gutekunst took a big swing at revamping the Green Bay Packers’ struggling safety room. He double-dipped with star free agent Xavier McKinney and second-round pick Javon Bullard out of Georgia. McKinney had majored in free safety with the New York Giants, so he was penciled in at center field while the physical Bullard played strong safety.
In his rookie season, Bullard piled up 90 total tackles and one fumble recovery over 15 games and 11 starts. He was productive, but a problem emerged that threatened to derail his development plan.
Bullard flashed potential in his rookie season, but, unfortunately for him, Evan Williams flashed more. Williams was a fourth-round pick in the same draft, out of Oregon, and he quickly made waves with a downhill, head-hunting play style that leapt off the tape. Similar to Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft in 2023, draft capital had given Bullard the initial edge on the depth chart. Still, Williams ultimately earned the permanent role on the field.
The biggest question over the 2025 offseason was cornerback. The team maintained open dialogue with longtime star Jaire Alexander throughout the summer, but he was eventually released due to his high salary and his inability to be consistently available. That left All-Pro return man Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine as the starting outside corners.
It felt awfully precarious to head into a pivotal third season with Jordan Love at the helm, flush with a deep, contending roster and fresh off a blockbuster trade for Micah Parsons, with such a thin cornerback room. The NFC North, with Justin Jefferson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Rome Odunze, seemed primed to punish that decision from the front office.
The Packers traded for Nate Hobbs and penciled him in at slot corner. He was Gutekunst’s lone acquisition at the position over the offseason, and he signed him to a four-year, $48 million deal. Hobbs made waves at training camp with physical, provocative play, but he was unable to bring that same energy on the field.
Green Bay benched Hobbs early, slotting him behind Valentine as a backup outside corner. Given that they had brought Hobbs into the fold at a decent salary, Bullard, who they listed as a backup nickel heading into the season, appeared to be the odd man out. Williams had seized the strong safety spot and, although there was nothing to say the second-year, former SEC standout was worth giving up on, his role and future were unclear.
Fast-forward to today, and Bullard is entrenched as a valuable member of Green Bay’s defense. He has played violently inside the box, making plays in the backfield and locking down the nickel position for good. He has played a key role in establishing the physical, relentless identity that Jeff Hafley’s unit has taken on since the Parsons acquisition. Once the odd man out, he is now viewed as a critical, versatile piece moving forward.
Asked about Bullard, Hafley said he is “hard to take off the field” and that he has become “one of our most valuable players.”
That’s a testament to his toughness, willingness to change his position and play style, and the team’s commitment to finding a way to incorporate his skillset, even with the sunk cost of Hobbs’ contract on the books. Cornerback will remain a point of emphasis moving forward. Nixon and Valentine have played solidly, and even occasionally flashed, but the Packers are fortunate not to have had their depth tested to this point. When that time does come, Bullard will have made things a lot easier. The front office will be looking exclusively for outside corners, with McKinney, Williams, and Bullard each being key chess pieces for the long haul.
The secondary has had a heavy hand in Green Bay’s 4-0 start in NFC North play. Elsewhere in the conference, however, significant threats have emerged. The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West, boasting Puka Nacua, a familiar face in Davante Adams, and a dark-horse MVP candidate in Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the outside, have asserted themselves as serious threats in the conference. It’s hard not to shout out the Philadelphia Eagles, who have had Green Bay’s number. It’s going to be fun to see Hafley’s trio of safeties continue to fly around, particularly now that they’ve gotten that combination just right.
