Javon Bullard thriving regardless of what role the Packers ask him to play

The Green Bay Packers rookie safety took a shot at playing cornerback against the Rams and now provides new DC Jeff Hafley with myriad options for how to use him.

Javon Bullard lined up on the outside man in a condensed formation, his first time starting in the slot since 2022 at the University of Georgia. The receiver motioned across the formation and Bullard shuffled down the line toward Quay Walker. As Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford went to hand the ball off, the gap between the tackle and the nub tight end opened. No. 20 was off in a flash, crashing down and making the tackle on Kyren Williams in the backfield. In his fifth NFL start, Bullard not only played out of position (technically) but thrived, playing in a way regular slot starter Keisean Nixon can’t as a run defender near the line of scrimmage while doing everything needed to in coverage. If Hafley wants to make Bullard the full-time slot player (and even if he doesn’t), this was as good an audition as he could have hoped to see.

“Special. They’re special,” Xavier McKinney told The Leap after the Rams game.

“Yeah, they’re special. Bull and Evan (Williams are) both special players, special for our team and they’re gonna be special in this league. They’re super smart. They’re able to play wherever; they can play both safeties. They can play the nickel position. They can play the dime back position. So, just that versatility between them has given us all opportunities to able to be in different places and make plays from different areas.”

McKinney watched it in action on the very first drive. The Rams tried to get Tutu Atwell free using cheat motion and a switch release from trips. Essentially, they’re trying to create confusion at the line of scrimmage in hopes Bullard or one of the defensive backs blows the coverage.