GREEN BAY – Javon Bullard will never say switching between safety and nickel corner is an easy gig.
Throw in a second safety spot plus the dime role and there's nothing simple about mastering so many potential assignments.
But to ease the mental burden, the versatile defensive back is entering his second season with a different approach to the varied ways in which the Packers' defensive coaches want to use him.
In short, he's enthusiastic about it, rather than just going along with it. He's not worried about not having one spot in the secondary to call his own, which is what he would've preferred as a rookie.
In Year 2, if he's being asked to wear different hats from series to series or even play to play, he's fired up.
"I love it. Now, I'm embracing it," Bullard said. "Last year, to be honest with you, maybe I felt like it was a negative. Now I'm thinking of it like a positive.
"They don't know where (number) 20 gonna line up."
So far in training camp, last year's second-round draft pick from Georgia has been anything but stationary. His first spot appears to be slot corner with the No. 1 nickel defense, but the 5-10, 198-pound DB has rotated to safety with the first unit plenty as well.
That could happen more as camp continues now that All-Pro Xavier McKinney is out with a calf injury. But with new corner Nate Hobbs (knee) also sidelined for a while, Bullard's slot duties aren't going anywhere.
It's a lot to manage, but Bullard's greater appreciation for the demands of his multi-faceted role keeps him ready to move around the defensive formation at any moment, which wasn't fully the case last year.
"I was a little naïve," Bullard admitted, looking back at 2024. "Like OK, I'm playing nickel this week. I'm good. Then somebody goes down, 'Oh Bull, go to safety.' My mind wasn't on that.
"Now I'm conscious of it. I wasn't preparing for that last year. I was more so preparing for the position I'm playing, that's it. But now, there's a possibility I could play both. Alright, let's do it. Study both. Be a pro. Be on your (stuff)."
It's also helped his mental focus to be physically healthy. Late last season, an ankle injury he'd been battling through got to be too much in the Week 14 Thursday night game in Detroit, when he couldn't put any more pressure on his foot and had to exit the game.
In the moment he didn't know, but it turned out he had fractured his heel. He was given the option to have surgery right away, or put it off until after the season and try to keep playing.
Bullard chose the latter, missing the next two games and returning to the lineup in Week 17. He played the rest of the way, including the playoff game in Philadelphia, in a lot of pain, but he chalked it up to the same type of sacrifice he'd seen other teammates make throughout the year.
"It was rough," he said. "Yeah, that (stuff) hurt. But I mean, our training staff is one of the best. They're going to help you out whichever way they can. So I was able to thug it out.
"I don't know no other way. If you can play, you can play. I love this team. I love the camaraderie we have. I love the brotherhood we're building. I'd do anything for this team."
The team loves what he brings to the defense, too, especially as a threat near the line of scrimmage.
Asked how Bullard's camp is going after he was beaten on a couple of one-on-one reps by Jayden Reed earlier this week in practice, Head Coach Matt LaFleur said unequivocally Bullard's doing an "outstanding" job, suggesting there's a lot more on the practice tape than a regretful rep here and there.
Bouncing back from a tough play comes with the territory, and he's broken up a pass on occasion as well. Handling all that better is part of his upbeat attitude.
"I'm a DB, man, you're going to get beat," he said. "You can't get mentally down on yourself.
"We're hard on ourselves. We challenge ourselves. We work our butt off every day, and when the results don't add up, you can't get down."
Bullard slogged through a tough offseason. After foot surgery in February, his foot was in a cast for six weeks, then a boot for another four. He wasn't full-go during OTAs and was resting up for the long haul.
That's almost here, and while Bullard isn't publicly sharing his goals for his second season, it's a good bet making some splash plays is among them.
Despite racking up 85 tackles last year – matching McKinney's total and finishing only three behind Keisean Nixon, who led the secondary – Bullard didn't have any sacks, interceptions or forced fumbles. He did have two tackles for loss and one fumble recovery.
As the new season approaches, opportunities await.
"We're gonna see Bull go from nickel to playing the boundary safety to playing the field safety, maybe even playing dime," McKinney said.
Bullard's response: Bring it on.
"It's a challenge, man, but it's a challenge that I'm up to," he said.
"I'm really just preparing like I haven't prepared before. You gotta have a fresh mindset. I can't go into this year thinking about what I did last year. Last year over. (Stuff) done. Oop, excuse me. It's over. All I can do now is look forward to this year."
