Paul Bretl | 8/21/2024
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Packers’ rookie safety Javon Bullard has been pulling double-duty as of late, often “starting” at safety next to Xavier McKinney while also seeing his opportunities in the slot increase as well. These snaps from the nickel allow the Packers to get Evan Williams on the field, along with being able to be more matchup specific with the game plan.
“I like both. I like both,” said Bullard after Family Night about playing safety and slot cornerback. “I want to be on the field. That’s all that matters to me. I want to be able to help this team win, whatever position that may be. Whatever the coaches see me as, that’s where I’m going to play.”
I would estimate that at this point it’s been roughly two weeks now where we’ve seen Bullard getting regular slot snaps during each of the practices. Even in playing just eight snaps against Denver in the preseason game, most came from the nickel.
In these instances, as expected, Williams is then the deep safety next to McKinney. At the boundary cornerback position are Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes–although occasionally Keisean Nixon has been lined up out wide. While I wouldn’t say Nixon getting boundary snaps has been common, it has happened sporadically throughout camp in what I would guess is an effort to cross-train Nixon to get him comfortable at multiple positions.
Although a safety, lining up in the nickel isn’t new to Bullard. In fact, during the 2022 season with Georgia, in which they won the National Championship, Bullard was the defense’s primary nickel cornerback that season. He has a physical play-style and has been a sound tackler throughout his career, which are important elements to playing inside.
In coverage that year, Bullard held opponents to just 8.9 yards per catch and forced five pass breakups with two interceptions. Out of 95 eligible cornerbacks and safeties that season who had enough playing time from the slot, Bullard ranked 29th in yards per snap allowed.
“It’s a completely different position,” said Bullard. “To the person that doesn’t watch enough football, people think DB is all the same. From outside corner to inside corner to safety, all of those are different. You talk about playing the deep part of the field and covering a guy with 4.3 speed in the open field. It’s completely different but reps [bring] muscle memory. You’ve got to dial into your keys and your technique.”
While oftentimes we can become fixated on which players are starting, I don’t see this as an either-or situation where the Packers are setting themselves up to choose between Bullard or Nixon as their starting slot cornerback. Rather, I believe it’s going to be game-plan specific, and based on the opponent and type of slot presence the Packers want on the field for each specific matchup.
“We’re trying to get our best players out there,” said Matt LaFleur about the Packers’ secondary. “The guys that give us the best chance to win, and there’s nothing to say that you can’t have multiple groupings as well. I know a lot of teams will do that, just depending upon what they want to play. Do they have a lot of different bodies in there. Some teams will have a big nickel or they get more of the safety body type in there versus their regular nickel, it’s just however it shakes out.”
One of the key words of the offseason that we heard general manager Brian Gutekunst often use was interchangeable. Meaning that between the two deep safeties and the nickel cornerback, he wanted all three players able to rotate between roles. We see this not only with Bullard playing safety and in the slot, but with all three of the Packers’ primary safeties rotating between playing deep versus in the box depending on the situation. There is also a lot of late post-snap movement to create some confusion for the offense.
Generally speaking, having this level of versatility among multiple players to the safety position generates a layer of unpredictability to the Packers’ defense. Pre-snap, opposing offenses won’t be able to necessarily get a beat on what responsibility each player has or where they might end up as the play unfolds based solely upon who is on the field or where each safety is initially lined up.
From a game-planning perspective, this feature also opens up the playbook for Jeff Hafely, who has the flexibility to change things up from week-to-week depending on the opponent and what the Packers want to take away. It’s this point specifically that will play a key role in determining who’s lined up in the slot more often during a given game.
Whether we’re discussing the staring spot next to McKinney or who will be lining up in the slot, if you ask LaFleur, those are both competitions that are still unfolding. But regardless of who ends being the starter on paper at either position, Bullard is going to be a factor at both spots, it just might vary week-to-week on where more of those opportunities come from.
“The thing that you notice is just the level of physicality he plays with,” said LaFleur about Bullard. “He’s got great instincts and his versatility. I mean, whether it’s safety, nickel, I feel like he’s a guy that can do either-or.”