The Green Bay Packers selected University of Georgia safety Javon Bullard in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday night, and in his first comments after being taken, Bullard explained what he will bring to the table for the Packers.
“I know I can play all three positions in the secondary,” Bullard said, via Jason B. Hirschhorn of The Leap. “Whatever you need me to play. I feel like I proved my versatility throughout this process, being able to cover slot guys and being able to cover bigger tight ends, being able to get down in the box and get down and dirty with your running backs.”
Versatility is certainly something Green Bay can use in its secondary, and Bullard will likely slot in as one of the Packers’ starting safeties opposite of Xavier McKinney, whom the team signed in free agency.
Johnson is coming off of a 2023 campaign in which he registered 56 tackles, a couple of interceptions and five passes defended.
The 21-year-old arrived at Georgia in 2021 and had a very limited role in his first season, logging 12 tackles. He then broke out in his sophomore year, racking up 46 tackles, seven tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, a pair of picks, a fumble recovery and three passes defended.
The Packers’ passing defense was actually very solid in 2023, ranking ninth in the NFL. However, they lost all three of their top safeties in Darnell Savage, Jonathan Owens and Rudy Ford to free agency. They were able to land the best safety on the market in McKinney, but they obviously still needed to fill out the rest of the depth chart.
Drafting Bullard is certainly a great start, and with Green Bay having Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes at cornerback, the Packers could end up having an impressive secondary next season.
We’ll see what role Javon Bullard can carve out in 2024.
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