GREEN BAY – Consider the Packers' safety competition in full swing already.
In Monday's first practice of training camp, rookie second-round draft pick Javon Bullard took the reps with the No. 1 defense alongside veteran starter Xavier McKinney.
Then in Tuesday's second practice, it was rookie fourth-round pick Evan Williams' turn with McKinney and the first team. To punctuate his day, Williams snagged an interception. In the same workout, last year's seventh-round pick Anthony Johnson Jr. also recorded a pick working with the second unit.
This is just getting started, folks.
"The coaches have made that really clear, there's a spot that's open," Williams said after Tuesday's practice. "It's about who comes in and is able to pick up the playbook, do their responsibility as fast as they can, and really just be a playmaker."
A third safety draft pick this season, fifth-rounder Kitan Oladapo, has yet to practice with the Packers due to a surgically repaired toe that he injured at the scouting combine. There's no timeline set for his return, but he told reporters Tuesday it doesn't feel too far off.
So for now, the bulk of the focus is on Bullard and Williams. With the early rotation of first-team reps in camp – a continuation from OTAs – the coaches have sent a message their draft order doesn't matter, it's how they perform from here on out.
Thus far, there's plenty to like with both players, who have shifted from deep to the box on different snaps to learn, and show, as much as they can. They've both displayed a strong aptitude for picking up the scheme, too, for different reasons.
Bullard feels defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley's system isn't much different from what coach Kirby Smart ran at Georgia. It's just been a matter of learning new terminology.
"Coach Haf is a DB guy, so was Kirby. Kirby was a DB guy, he played DB," Bullard said. "It's very similar."
Bullard cautioned against discussing any comfort level, though, because while that might apply specifically to the X's and O's, it's not his overall mindset.
"I don't even like the word comfortable," he said. "Especially in this profession because the second you get comfortable, somebody's got your job. And I don't even have a job yet."
When that comment was relayed to Head Coach Matt LaFleur, he smiled.
"I didn't know he said that, but that fires me up," LaFleur said. "We want to make these guys comfortable being uncomfortable to get the most out of them. But I think that just speaks to his level of maturity and obviously where he's coming from at Georgia and the amount of competition he's had to face there. That means a lot."
In Williams' case, he's no stranger to understanding new defenses, having played for multiple defensive coordinators during his college career at Fresno State and Oregon. While his heart remains heavy trying to process the recent tragic death of Oregon secondary mate and fellow fourth-round pick Khyree Jackson in a car accident, Williams is not shy about taking charge when given the opportunity.
"Coach Haf puts a lot of power in the safety's call," Williams said. "He gives us a lot of power in the defense, just being able to have the freedom to check, and as things come to the line, being able to communicate.
"Every time I go out there, I just try to command the defense, act like I've been there before, even though you're looking in front of you, you've got guys like RG, Kenny Clark, … you just gotta act like you belong and have that mentality."
Bullard shares that affinity for the veterans around him, especially the fellow "Dawgs" from Georgia such as Quay Walker, Devonte Wyatt and Eric Stokes.
Both also couldn't be happier working with McKinney, the fifth-year pro who came to Green Bay as a prized free agent after four seasons with the Giants.
"Guy's a pro, man," Bullard said. "Learning a lot from him. He's a very intelligent guy. You saw from Day 1, the guy came in and didn't hesitate. He learned (Hafley's defense) from scratch like that."
For his part, McKinney has been impressed with both rookies, particularly their smarts and instincts, and switching off safety partners is good regular-season prep for when anyone might be needed to step in.
Otherwise, he's focused on keeping any mental mistakes by the rookies to a minimum by constantly communicating, on and off the field.
"My role and my job is to make sure that the rookies are prepared and no matter what rookie it is, making sure they know exactly what to do and how to do it and also doing it at a high level," McKinney said. "Obviously I'm helping them along the way with any little bumps, any questions that they might have, and it's been pretty smooth throughout."
That's partly due to the rookies staying in their playbooks between the end of minicamp and start of training camp, LaFleur noted, and getting a few days of walk-through reps before the first full practice.
It has set them up to compete for the long haul, with the pads coming on soon and then preseason games right around the corner. LaFleur calls those the "true measure" that will in all likelihood decide the pecking order for the start of the regular season.
What will separate the competitors? Williams pointed to three things – communication skills, reading properly with the eyes, and most important, consistency.
"Whether that be alignment, assignment, knowing what you're going to do, just so a coach can have that trust and respect in your game," he said. "You want a coach to have that full trust in you."
