Scouting Report: Javon Bullard (SAF) - Georgia
Sales Pitch: “Versatile defensive back with the football IQ and athletic ability to be a plug and play starter at the next level. Lacks the typically size for a NFL safety but uses excellent toughness and instincts to compensate.”
Athletic Profile
Height: 5’ 10 1/2”
Weight: 198 lbs
Arm Length: 30 3/4”
Hand Size: 9”
40 Yard Dash: 4.47
10 Yard Split: 1.51
Vertical: 33”
Broad Jump: N/A
Short Shuttle: 3.97
3-Cone: 7.00
Age: 21
Relative Athletic Score: 8.25 / 10.00
Statistics
Career: 80 TKL - 8 TFL - 3.5 SK - 4 INT - 8 PD - 0 FF
2023: 39 TKL - 1 TFL - 0 SK - 2 INT - 5 PD - 0 FF
Strengths
Plus athlete with good speed and agility
High IQ player with multi-positional versatility
Willing to take on bigger players in run support
Plays with proper leverage as a run defender from the slot and when running the lane
Athletic tools to play man to man coverage in the slot
Outstanding grasp of spacing and leverage when in zone coverage
Good ball production in two years of starting at Georgia
Speed and IQ to play deep SAF in single or two high looks
Mid 4.4 athlete with a large tackling range
Quickness and snap count timing to be an effective blitzer from the slot
Weaknesses
Thin frame with below average length for a DB
Struggles to get off blocks at the point of attack
Tendency to grab at the top of routes when he gets beat
Pursuit angles from the slot can be too flat
Length and change of direction limitations can result in miss tackles
Grab and roll tackler who does not stop ball carrier momentum
Summary
Javon Bullard is a versatile defensive back who wins with tremendous football instincts and plus athleticism. A former 3-Star recruit from the state of Georgia, Bullard was vital cog in the uber-successful Georgia defenses in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons. In 2022, he was the MVP of the National Title Game as the Bulldogs starting slot, before moving back to free safety in 2023, where he was 2nd Team All-SEC. Bullard has the intelligence and athletic ability to play basically any spot in a defense’s secondary. He logged 726 snaps in the slot during his Georgia career where movement skills and ability to read and react make effective man coverage player. Bullard is also an excellent zone defender. He has a strong feel for space both as an underneath and deep zone defender. He is particularly adept at reading route concepts and understanding how offenses are trying to attack him, making him difficult to scheme out of position. Bullard has the requisite speed (4.47 40) to play deep safety (408 career snaps at FS) in both single or two high looks. He displays good ball skills (4 INT & 8 PBUs in his career) both from deep zones and when his back is turned in man coverage. Bullard is on the smaller side for a defensive back, with his height, weight and length all being sub-25th percentile for the position. Despite this, he is a strong run defender. He is willing to take on blockers bigger than him and play through contact both at the line of scrimmage and when closing from deep. He is quickly able to diagnose the run and does an excellent job playing with proper leverage to spill ball carriers back to his help. Bullard does struggles to get off blocks in the run game. His lack of strength and arm length creates difficulties disengaging from blockers. The same size limitations show up as at tackler, where he is a grab and roll tackler who lacks stopping power. Bullard has a career 9.2% missed tackle rate (10.8% in 2023), with most of his misses coming from his lack of length and change of direction skills. Bullard projects as an instant impact slot defender due to his man coverage ability and impact in run support. He fits as a deep safety in both single-high and splits safety looks in addition to his slot impact. His lack of size will likely keep him out of Round 1 but his versatile well rounded game projects easily to a variety of schemes at the next level and should make him an early Day 2 pick.