Javon Bullard taken by Green Bay in second round of NFL Draft

Chalk Javon Bullard up as another Georgia Bulldog defensive star that’s been drafted. The Green Bay Packers just chose the Milldgeville, Ga. native in the second round at No. 58 overall of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Just a three-star coming out of Baldwin High School, Bullard took time to earn his way onto the field. As a freshman, his impact came primarily on special teams. He was credited with 12 total tackles including a team-high six stops in extended action against Charleston Southern. However, as a sophomore, he was hard to keep off the field.

Bullard started 10 of Georgia’s 15 games in 2022, earning Defensive MVP honors for both the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl win over Ohio State and UGA’s second straight National Championship Game victory, dominating against TCU. He had a pair of interceptions and forced a fumble, all in the first half of action versus the Horned Frogs before exited with a dislocated shoulder. Still, it was obvious there was no player that had a greater impact on that side of the ball in the 65-7 annihilation.

Bullard came up biggest in the biggest moments. If the outing in Los Angeles isn’t enough to prove that to you, how about his two sacks against top-ranked Tennessee? He had seven tackles and a pass breakup as well to help beat the Volunteers, and it came on the heels of a team-best eight-tackle day against arch rival Florida. He also led UGA in stops in the SEC Championship Game victory over LSU. All in all, Bullard finished with 46 tackles, good for fifth-best on the team.

That production in 2022 came at STAR. In 2023, he not only showed off his versatility with a move to safety, but also his leadership and team-player mentality. Bullard was tasked with filling the shoes of All-American Christopher Smith on the back end of the Bulldog defense, and he did just that. Starting all 12 of the games in which he played – missing a couple early on due to an ankle injury – Bullard upped his tackle total to 56, third-best, while managing to match his interception number with two.

Bullard had a career-high 10 stops against Auburn in his return from the ankle injury. He tallied a team-high tackle total against Florida and managed to grab interceptions in back-to-back weeks after that against Missouri and Ole Miss. All that was good for AP Second-Team All-SEC honors and the ability to turn pro after just three seasons in red and black.

“Javon is a guy that’s had a chip on his shoulder. He was another not highly recruited guy. He loves football, and he embraces a selfless role. He came in during the COVID class, so there’s another evidence of a guy like Kamari (Lassiter) and a guy like Brock Bowers that bought into the team concept,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said about Bullard. “He loves it. He loves to eat off the floor. He likes that saying. He’s a hard worker that overcomes a lot. A lot of people didn’t have high accolades on him, but we liked the intrinsic character in him, and it’s paid off because he’s a tough, physical leader on our team.”

“He’s a great leader. He has heart and soul,” Smart added on a separate occasion. “He and Kamari have such passion for the game. They compete against each other every day in practice, and they’re both physically tough. They love football. They’re at the edge of their seat every meeting taking notes. They love nuggets. He’s just a great kid and a great leader who loves football.”

Bullard joins Georgia teammates Brock Bowers (Las Vegas Raiders), Amarius Mims (Cincinnati Bengals), Ladd McConkey (Los Angeles Chargers) and Kamari Lassiter (Houston Texans) in being taken so far. Coverage of the second and third rounds of the NFL Draft continues on ABC, ESPN2 and NFL Network while final day action gets going at 12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday.