Safety Javon Bullard is everything that Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon wants in his defensive backs: a hard-hitter who rallies to the ball and can make plays both in coverage and at the line of scrimmage.
When he’s not earning dumb unsportsmanlike penalties, Bullard is a force in Gannon’s secondary. And about that taunting flag against the New York Jets, which negated a third-down stop: that was a heck of a pass breakup before Bullard sabotaged his own handiwork.
It was hardly his only standout play of the day. He made himself felt all over the field, swatting away passes, wrapping up receivers for short gains, bursting into the backfield to level ball carriers behind the line. For an aggressive playcaller like Gannon, Bullard is the perfect chess piece.
Javon Bullard is a key cog in aggressive Packers defense
The third-year safety finished the game with seven tackles, a pair of TFLs, and two pass breakups. Bullard was one of the sparkplugs fueling the Packers’ defensive effort while the offense coughed and spluttered. It would have been easy to be demoralized, but the defense just kept delivering.
Against both the pass and the run, Bullard played a key role in limiting the Jets to short gains for most of the day. Aside from 43 yards on a quick-hitter to running back Breece Hall, their longest gain of the day was 17 yards. The Jets ran 72 plays and averaged four yards a pop.
Gannon loves his DBs, and Bullard’s physical versatility allows the Packers to keep plenty on the field. He can creep up in the box, lock down the slot, and race down the field to disrupt a go-route. With Bullard manning the slot or guarding against the run, safeties Evan Williams and Xavier McKinney can play centerfield and read the quarterback.
Being able to plant Bullard in the box also gives Gannon more leeway to unleash linebacker Edgerrin Cooper in the pass rush. If anything gets past the line, Bullard can help clean it up.
Although he isn’t huge at 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, Bullard plays up relative to his size. His toughness, one of Gannon’s cultural principles, helps him match up with running backs and tight ends in space without getting run over. He showed against the Jets that he’s just fine leaning into his safety skills in downfield coverage.
Receivers shouldn’t expect to break away for a big gain once the ball is in their hands. So far this season Bullard has allowed an average of 5.8 yards on six receptions while holding quarterbacks to a 66.7 passer rating, per PFF. A dependable tackler in space and up at the line, Bullard also ranked third among safeties with six stops following Sunday’s games.
Gannon’s defense thrives on versatility. Much like Cooper in the linebacker room, Bullard is one of the Swiss-army-knife playmakers at the Packers’ disposal. If Cooper is the knight in Gannon’s board of chess weapons, call Bullard the rook.
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