It just took a little while for the Green Bay Packers to figure out Javon Bullard.
Still, the 23-year-old cornerback made noticeable improvements in the slot from Year 1 to Year 2. Now, entering Year 3 but with a different defensive coordinator at the controls, Bullard appears destined to take off.
On a defense with a superstar in Micah Parsons, an All-Pro in Xavier McKinney, Bullard may just become Jonathan Gannon’s Swiss Army knife.
But it’s not about his positional versatility. The Packers drafted him to be a safety, but they shifted him to slot corner, and it’s become evident that Bullard shines when he’s closer to the line of scrimmage. The Swiss Army knife label fits because of everything else he brings to the table.
Javon Bullard is everything you want in a ball player #dawg pic.twitter.com/OmkXaz31Gx
— Eli Berkovits (@BookOfEli_NFL) December 10, 2025
Bullard played 81% of the snaps on defense for Green Bay as a rookie in 2024. He spent time at safety and in the slot during that time. His first year was a bit rocky as they figured out his best fit.
In Year 2, the Packers put less on Bullard’s plate, and he thrived. Bullard only played 65% of the snaps, mostly in the slot rather than the combination of slot and safety. His passer rating allowed went from 119.8 to 89.2. While that was on fewer snaps, he actually had more targets coming his way.
Bullard should return to his now-established slot corner role under Gannon, but the volume and the overall role should change.
As teams continue to show more nickel defense looks, Bullard should expect to see a significant bump in his snap count. The game is evolving in his direction.
On top of that, Bullard is not so quietly becoming more of a vocal leader. He’s taken on the role of the pit bull for Green Bay’s defense. He’s unabashed with his words. When talking to reporters after a recent training camp practice, he noted a similarity he and Gannon share.
I like JG (Jonathan Gannon). I mess with JG. The mindset. The attitude. The passion that he has. It shows. You can tell that he really just loves ball. He shows it in many different ways. He’s a little crazy but it’s a mutual respect because I think I’m a little crazy. … I really do think he’s going to make this team better and make this defense better and we’re glad to have him.
It falls right in line with a player in Bullard who mostly will say what’s on his mind. We all remember his choice words after Green Bay’s playoff loss to the Chicago Bears last January.
No disrespect to them, but it ain’t sh*t that they did. It’s us. We gotta finish. You know we whoopin’ they a– the whole game. We gotta finish, Chicago ain’t do sh*t special.
That s—, it’s starting to get damn-near embarrassing. We can’t do s— like that and expect to win these big games going against these good-ass teams. We’re gonna have to get our s— together.
As for his ever-growing game, the splash plays they anticipated when they drafted him as a second-round safety haven’t materialized. To change that, Bullard took up boxing in the offseason and drew parallels between boxing and the timing and precision needed to play on defense and force fumbles.
“I punched my a– off last year, and I didn’t get nothing out,” he said. “I’m hitting helmets. I’m hitting everything but the ball. It’s really about precision and accuracy … that timing is impeccable. You gotta be right on point.”
He has already forced a fumble with the punch-out method during training camp.
Javon Bullard is a lot of things for Green Bay’s defense, in the locker room and on the field, patrolling the slot. He can serve a lot of functions for new DC Jonathan Gannon, as Green Bay continues to discover the full range of his possibilities.