GREEN BAY – A big reason the Packers spent a second-round pick last spring on Georgia defensive back Javon Bullard was his versatility. Knowing he could play safety or slot corner enhanced his value in the draft.
Right on cue, that versatility was called upon during Bullard's rookie season, perhaps more than expected, and it proved to be a massive challenge as well as a significant growth opportunity moving forward.
"Adapt to sudden change," Bullard said when asked to sum up his first NFL season as he cleaned out his locker a day after the playoff loss to Philadelphia. "It's probably what I'm most proud of about myself. Moving around in the back end, playing multiple positions and producing at each position, I feel like that's probably one of my strong points."
But it wasn't easy.
Bullard began the year starting at safety opposite Xavier McKinney. By mid-October, he was playing more in the slot as fellow rookie Evan Williams moved into the starting role alongside the veteran free agent.
Then Williams left the Jacksonville game in Week 8 with an injury, and Bullard returned to the back end for a while until Williams returned. In Detroit in early December, Bullard had to shift back to safety again when Williams exited in the first half, and then Bullard hurt his ankle in the fourth quarter and missed two games himself.
When he came back for the Week 16 trip to Minnesota, he was in the slot as Zayne Anderson had replaced an injured Williams, but then Anderson also went down, so Bullard was changing spots again.
It's one thing for a seasoned veteran to transition between the two spots on a whim, but it's quite another for a rookie who has just learned a new scheme and is still adjusting to the speed of the pro game.
"That (stuff's) hard, man," Bullard admitted. "I'm not gonna lie. I'm not going to sit here and tell you it's easy when it's not. It takes a different level of focus to turn that on and turn it off, to switch modes like that."
The greatest difficulty arose when the mid-game injuries struck, because in those weeks, Bullard had practiced primarily as the nickel/slot corner but then had to shift and play a safety position he hadn't freshly practiced. The late-season move was especially tough because he had missed two weeks of practice entirely due to his ankle.
"To somebody that doesn't really know ball, it's still the same thing, but to somebody that's in this building or somebody that studies ball, you know that those are two totally different positions," Bullard said. "There's certain things you gotta learn. I've still got some polishing to do. Didn't have the year I wanted to have, but that's what next year brings. There's always ways to challenge yourself and keep going."
The 5-10, 198-pound Bullard was as sure a tackler as anyone on the defense, finishing third on the team with 90 total, behind only linebackers Quay Walker (102) and Isaiah McDuffie (97). His 61 solo tackles tied for second with cornerback Keisean Nixon (behind Walker's 72). Coaches lauded him for the physical presence he brought to the defense.
When he says he didn't have the year he wanted, he's likely referring to the lack of high-impact plays, as he broke up just one pass and had two tackles for loss, with no sacks or interceptions.
The belief is those splash plays are right around the corner for him. Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and defensive backs coach Ryan Downard both acknowledged the difficulty of what Bullard was asked to do as a rookie, and they appreciated his professional attitude and response amidst those challenges.
"That's something we tried to address in the right way, not to put too much on his plate at one time," Downard said, while also admitting sometimes the coaches had no choice. "He knew from learning all the safety stuff what the jobs were at the nickel, but it's different when you actually put yourself in those positions.
"I think it's going to serve him down the road. He's going to be a player that you don't know where he's going to line up at, because he can do all these different jobs. I think it's going to be a good thing as he continues on in his career."
Hafley concurred.
"I just think he's got so much versatility and value, moving him around all over the place – whether it's nickel, dime, safety, getting him closer to the ball, blitzing him, getting him involved in the run game, he's got coverage ability," Hafley said. "He's going to be a guy that you can do so many things with down the road once he really has a great grasp and feel for everything."
That'll be the focus when the offseason program rolls around. Bullard said he'll probably need a clean-up procedure on his injured ankle, and he'll talk to the veterans on the team to figure out how much time to take off before resuming workouts.
It was a "hard" rookie year, all things considered, but he expects to be better for it.
"Oh, for sure. For sure, man," he said. "I definitely feel like it's just a stepping stone. A learning curve. Once you've got it, you've got it, and it's never going to leave you. That's one of my mottos, to just keep going because you never know how things are going to end up."
