Packers defensive back Javon Bullard deserves more credit for his unique rookie year

Evan Williams’ impressive rookie year at safety, especially for a fourth-round pick, has led to a feeling in some circles around the Green Bay Packers that fellow defensive back and second-round pick Javon Bullard’s first season was a disappointment in comparison.

On the surface, it is easy to arrive at that conclusion. With a 72.3 PFF grade last season, Williams was Green Bay’s seventh-highest graded defender for the 2024 season, while Bullard ranked 24th on the team with a 54.2 grade.

There is a consensus opinion that Williams is ahead of Bullard in the pecking order, having a firm grip on the safety spot opposite Xavier McKinney, and after the Packers signed versatile cornerback Nate Hobbs, there has been some talk that Bullard could struggle to get on the field in 2025.

Looking a little deeper, the concerns over how Bullard played as a rookie and his role moving forward appear to be overblown.

He played 72% of the defensive snaps he was healthy for in 2024, compared to 59.2% for Williams. The Packers relied on Bullard heavily from Week 1, when he was thrown into the fire against the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles in Brazil, while Williams was a healthy scratch that night.

Only McKinney and Keisean Nixon played more defensive snaps in 2024. Bullard was used as the deep safety early on, later moving back and forth from the slot. He does not get enough credit for playing multiple positions and surviving at both as a rookie.

There were only five defensive backs who played at least 250 snaps in the slot and at free safety in 2024: Brian Branch, Kyle Hamilton, Derwin James, Quentin Lake and Bullard, who was the first rookie to do it since 2007.

Meanwhile, Williams had the benefit usually afforded to rookies, of being able to ease his way into his first campaign, playing just 34 defensive snaps in the first four weeks – compared to Bullard’s 224 during the first month.

He essentially played deep safety exclusively, with just 91 snaps in the box and 65 in the slot compared to 352 at free safety.

While Williams had a better PFF grade for the season overall, Bullard actually graded out better on a week-to-week basis after Green Bay’s bye in week nine. The obvious caveats to add is that Williams dealt with injuries in the second half of the season.

When the pair were on the field together, they were not playing the same position, so it is not completely fair to compare them, but Bullard had a PFF grade of 70 or higher in five of the 16 games he played in, while Williams had four in 13 games. The highs were there for both players in equal measure.

The key difference between the two is that Williams only had one game with a PFF grade of lower than 50, while Bullard had five. The lows were much lower for Bullard.

He was a victim of his own versatility, and looking at Bullard’s grades week by week, a trend starts to emerge which suggests the constant changing of positions did him no favors.

After Week 4, he made the move from deep safety to primarily playing slot corner, and his PFF grade dropped from 59 to 45.2 in Week 5. Bullard spent the next two games in the slot, and his grade increased each week to 62 and then 66.1.

Then he moved back to safety in Week 8, with his grade promptly plummeting to 44.5, before rebounding the next week to 71.3. Another move back to the slot followed after the bye, and his grade declined again to 55.3, then improved to 84.9, his best grade of the year, in Week 12.

Three of Bullard’s five sub-50 PFF grades on the year came immediately after switching assignments, with another of his poor grades coming in Week 1, when he was making his NFL debut. It makes sense that his play suffered after being asked to move positions, before settling in thereafter.

On the season, Bullard was actually better in the slot, with an average weekly grade of 60.6 when playing the majority of snaps there, compared to 55.6 at safety, so if Williams does indeed secure the starting safety spot across from McKinney, it may suit Bullard more to play in the slot anyway.

With Hobbs added, there is a decent chance Bullard plays fewer snaps in 2025, which will probably help the quality and consistency of his play, but any suggestion he will fade into the background in his sophomore season seems misguided.

Bullard’s unique rookie year should serve him well moving forward, as he will likely continue to be moved around where as needed, and should be able to adapt more quickly in the future with some experience under his belt.

Whatever his specific role ends up being, Bullard projects to be a valuable part of Jeff Hafley’s defense in 2025 and beyond.

This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers’ Javon Bullard deserves more credit for his unique rookie year