NFL Analysis
4/26/24
5 min read
Javon Bullard 2024 NFL Draft: Combine Results, Scouting Report For Green Bay Packers Safety
The 2024 NFL Draft is getting close, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.
Here's our report on Javon Bullard.
Javon Bullard'S 2024 NFL COMBINE RESULTS
- Height: 5-foot-10 1/2
- Weight: 198
- Arm length: 30 3/4"
- 40-yard dash: 4.47
- 10-yard split: 1.51
- Vertical jump: 33"
- Broad jump: DNP
- 20-yard shuttle: 3.97
Javon Bullard 2024 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT
STRENGTHS
- Quick feet with twitch playing slot corner. Matched up man-to-man with loose hips and change of direction.
- Outstanding snaps of both physical and mirror-match press man from the slot. Locked on and stayed in phase.
- Showed plant and drive quickness and burst from off coverage in the slot. Attacked the receiver and the ball.
- Played with physicality and competitive toughness as a run defender out of the slot. Took on and beat blocks.
- Strong snaps as a blitzer off the slot. Showed both excellent blitz timing, downhill burst and explosiveness.
- In 2023, played downhill from post safety alignment with speed and control tackling with balance and force.
- Aggressive run defender playing downhill and running the alley. Triggered and tracked, understanding leverage.
- Play speed and range to work sideline-to-sideline and make tackles. Played fast, with innate feel for angles.
- Excellent feel for reading quarterback drops, then planting and driving with the burst to play both the receiver and the throw.
- What consistently stood out was recognition and reaction, processing with a quick trigger and plus play speed.
- Showed plus range as a post safety gliding from the middle of field to the sideline to be a factor on vertical throws.
- Understood how to set the edge in run game aggressively, taking on blockers and locking them out with arm extension.
- Outstanding playing personality. Aggressive and competitive. Brings a swagger to the defense. A tone setter.
WEAKNESSES
- Lacks the desired and ideal length for an NFL defensive back. Kind of a short stumpy build that looks more like a linebacker
- Short strider with some tightness in his core and hips. More straight-line, linear in his movement than loose-hipped.
- Does not possess top-end speed when he has to turn and run with vertical routes. Not straight line explosive.
- Not as fluid and efficient when flipping his hips to react to vertical routes, as he is triggering laterally and downhill.
- There will be legitimate questions in regard to his short-area quickness and his whether or not his speed can match up to higher-level slot receivers.
NFL TRANSITION
Bullard brings extensive experience as both a slot corner and back end safety to his projection and transition to the next level as he played predominantly nickel corner in 2022 and predominantly safety in 2023. What stands out with Bullard, especially in his 2023 tape at safety, but also in is 2022 tape in the slot, is his alignment and position versatility and his competitive playing personality. These traits showed up in his recognition processing and his quick trigger reaction time, resulting in outstanding play speed and range to make plays.
At back end safety Bullard showed an instinctive feel for reading the drop of the quarterback and the quarterback’s eyes, tying that to the depth and timing of receivers route. That allowed him to plant and drive on throws with both anticipation and explosive burst. Bullard has also showed the ability to match up man-to-man in the slot. He did so in 2023 versus Missouri’s Luther Burden. It will be interesting to see how NFL teams project him.
Bullard’s 2022 tape showed that he can play press and off-man coverage versus slot wide receivers in addition to playing underneath zone coverage. His 2023 tape showed that he can play efficiently on the back end both as a downhill run defender and functional range safety versus the pass. Though you would not call him a playmaker.
The bottom line is that Bullard is more straight-line linear in his movement than loose and flexible. But also that he is a smart, savvy player with higher level football intelligence and recognition instincts. He played the game with a competitiveness and toughness that always showed up.
What struck me watching Bullard was the Vikings' defense and the way in which Brain Flores deployed Josh Metellus in multiple roles in what was essentially a big nickel defense. Bullard would be an excellent fit in that kind of role, and keep in mind that Metellus played more than 94 percent of the Viking's defensive snaps
OTHER NOTES
Bullard came out of Georgia as a three-star recruit after playing predominantly corner in high school. He became a starter at Georgia in his sophomore season in 2022.
In 2022, Bullard predominantly was the slot corner in the Georgia defense, but there were zone coverage snaps in which he played deep safety. Bullard was deployed as an edge blitzer at times.
In 2023, Bullard played both on the back end and in the box, depending on the defensive coverage call, but a higher percentage of his snaps came on the back end. On that back end, he played both single-high and two-shell. There were cover-2 snaps in which Bullard was the middle-hole defender.
