The 2024 NFL Draft safety class is sometimes viewed as underwhelming, but there are diamonds in the rough, like Georgia’s Javon Bullard. What does Bullard have to offer with his scouting report, and can he be a difference-maker at the NFL level?
Javon Bullard Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 5’10 1/2″
- Weight: 198 pounds
- Length: 30 3/4″
- Wingspan: 74 1/4″
- Hand: 9″
- Position: Safety
- School: Georgia
- Current Year: Junior
The road to the NFL hasn’t been without its hitches for Bullard. A former three-star recruit, Bullard had to work his way onto the depth chart at a stacked Bulldogs program. Furthermore, a DUI arrest in September 2022 caused him to be suspended for one game, adding another obstacle to his route.
Teams will ask about that off-field incident for Bullard. But the bigger headline is how he almost immediately straightened his path and became an invaluable playmaker and defensive leader for the Georgia program.
MORE: Top CBs in the 2024 NFL Draft
In the ensuing National Championship-winning 2022 season, Bullard put up 46 tackles, seven tackles for loss (TFL), 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, and three pass breakups (PBU). Then, in 2023, he returned with 56 tackles, a TFL, two picks, and five PBUs.
A multi-year starter for one of the perennial best defenses in college football and a Senior Bowl participant, Bullard has a strong track record. But looking at his film profile, where does he fit best in the NFL?
Bullard’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Explosive, fleet-footed mover with lean mass, who quickly accelerates on the attack.
- Incredibly sudden and snappy athlete with high-level twitch and instant gear-shift ability.
- Can use corrective twitch and energy to snap into phase and jolt into proper alignment.
- Fluid pedal DB who can swivel hips to adjust leverage while keeping pace and balance.
- Patient and disciplined zone stem defender who doesn’t let WRs dictate route depth.
- Adept route processor who can adapt to 2-on-1 situations and react quickly to changes.
- Quickly processes off-man route leverage modulations, reacting and realigning instantly.
- Flashes incredible awareness and eye discipline in single-high against vertical concepts.
- Able to use inch resets in off-man coverage to maintain his positioning and leverage.
- Discipline extends to press-man coverage, and is built upon with twitch and timely jams.
- Can throttle up and down to match delayed releases while maintaining equilibrium.
- Slabs WRs at the catch point with physical “dog mentality” and desire to set the tone.
- Relentless support presence, blitz threat, and scramble-drill hunter with sharp vision.
- Superb run-fitting DB who can enforce in the box, square up, and explode into gaps.
- Has built-in versatility between the slot, field safety, and situational boundary snaps.
Weaknesses
- Has below average height and length for a defensive back.
- Below average length sometimes impacts his disruption radius at the catch point.
- Doesn’t quite have the mass to consistently halt momentum on solo tackles in space.
- Explosiveness is a notch below the elite tier, which shows up on vertical carries at times.
- Doesn’t quite have the elite long speed to close gaps and run down breakaway threats.
- Non-elite explosiveness and speed can render him a step behind on crossing routes.
- Can be a bit too grabby when using length to gather receivers up intermediate seams.
- Occasionally takes faulty initial pursuit angles, and doesn’t have the speed to recover.
- At times, incorrectly carries WRs over the middle, leaving vertical WRs unencumbered.
- Still has room to shore up hand technique to consistently convert interception chances.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Bullard grades out as a top-64 prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft. For teams in need of a versatile safety with high-end run support ability, value as a nickel defender, and field safety flexibility between two-high and single-high, Bullard is worth early-to-mid Day 2 capital.
At around 5’10 1/2″, 198 pounds, Bullard is a compact and physical defender with great lean mass who brings a tone-setting competitive edge to the fold. That edge separates him in support, where he willfully engages blocks and sifts through the scrum — but there’s much more to like past the surface.
In coverage, Bullard is sound in every mode you can imagine. He can line up against slot WRs in press-man with his short-area quickness, discipline, and targeted physicality. He can pedal and transition in off-man with his patience and fluidity, and he can carry out zone rotations in space and process overlapping route concepts with quick reaction speed.
While Bullard’s 4.47 40-yard dash is more than respectable, he doesn’t quite have elite burst or long speed, and that shows up on tape. His below-average length also limits his disruption radius and playmaking range. Thus, it’s better if he’s not isolated against high-end speed threats in single-high at the NFL level.
Nevertheless, as a versatile coverage DB with flexibility across the secondary, high-end nickel DB utility, and stifling processing speed, voracity, and physicality in run support, Bullard presents plenty of appeal. He can be a role-diverse starter on Day 1 and has impact starter upside at his peak.
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