First-round hopes: Jonathan Bullard awaits his fate in the NFL draft
GAINESVILLE — Every year at the Scouting Combine, the media tend to ask the big boys some lazy questions.
Maybe an offensive lineman that played tackle in college is being looked at as a guard in the NFL. Perhaps a D-lineman can be a three-technique tackle or a five-technique end, as views vary from team to team.
Because even a lot of seasoned football reporters don’t understand the finer details of line play — easily identifiable stats that measure effectiveness are in short supply — some version of the following query is what you tend to hear most often when linemen take the podium: “What’s your preferred position?”
Their answer, an overwhelming majority of the time, is relatively predictable: “Oh, I’ll play anywhere.”
In other words: Look, man, I just want to get drafted. It’s time to get paid. If I say left tackle, then a team that needs a right guard may pass on me. That’s bad business. I’ll be a blank slate for everyone.
It’s hard to blame linemen for answering in this fashion — especially if they’re not viewed as potential first-round picks. While a long-and-lean pass rusher might have been valuable suiting up at defensive end in college, shifting to outside linebacker may be his path to making a roster at the game’s highest level.
Florida’s Jonathan Bullard was the rare exception when given the “where do you want to play?” treatment.
“I want to play three-technique,” he said last month in Indianapolis, without hesitation.
It was refreshing. No political correctness. No coaching from his publicist. He was asked. So he answered.
know your role
For the uninitiated, a three-technique defensive tackle in a 4-3 system lines up between the offensive guard and tackle. By design, a three-technique is a one-gap penetrator that blows up plays in the backfield.
At 6-foot-3 and 284 pounds, Bullard has a moldable frame that could be added to — or even deleted from — depending on where a coaching staff would like him to play. Franchises employing a 3-4 scheme could make him a five-technique defensive end. Instead of a one-gap penetrator, he’d be more of a two-gap controller.
Most prospects simply want to get drafted. Position is unimportant. However, Bullard isn’t most prospects.
“If you just ask me what I want to do, I like being close to the ball,” he told Saturday Down South after his Pro Day workout Tuesday. “I like disruption. I like being able to get in a guy’s chest faster. You can make more plays.”
Bullard doesn’t see it as pigeonholing himself. He’s simply pointing out where he’s done the most damage.
“The past few years I had my success on the inside,” he said, “so why would I not say that?”
Still, Bullard’s preference for three-technique doesn’t mean 3-4 clubs should scratch him off their list.
Turn on the tape. You’ll see the Shelby (N.C.) High School product putting his hand in the dirt all over the formation. Inside and outside in three-man fronts. Inside and outside in four-man fronts. Everywhere.
In addition to three-technique, it’s reasonable to suggest that Bullard can be useful in a 4-3 at left end on running downs — he’s strong enough to hold the point of attack — and nose tackle in obvious passing situations. Right end is likely a stretch, though, as that’s more of a spot for pure pass rushers.
As for the 3-4, while right or left end is realistic, bulking up enough to play the nose probably isn’t.
“I shouldn’t have to say, ‘I can play anything,'” Bullard said. “Because if they’re watching film like that, they know I play every position on the D-line.”
As specialized as the NFL has become these days, a smart defensive coordinator can showcase him somewhere.
“Everybody has different packages,” said Bullard, “and them coaches are coaches for a reason. They’re going to put you in a situation to help the team the most that you can, so I’m not really too worried about where I end up.”
a force to be reckoned with
Despite dealing with injuries, Bullard played in all 14 games for the Gators in 2015.
UF finished No. 8 nationally in total defense, surrendering just 310.2 yards per contest. Opponents only averaged 3.5 yards per rush, as oftentimes they were pounded by Bullard after he had quickly shed blocks.
He was credited with 66 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, two pass breakups and six quarterback hits. It’s not unusual for a D-tackle to pace the team in TFLs — the fact that Bullard also tied for the lead in sacks is extra impressive. He was tasked with stopping the run before rushing the passer.
Bullard considered turning pro as a junior, but a dominant senior campaign has moved him up draft boards.
“What is there to say? The guy is a great player,” said Florida coach Jim McElwain. “Obviously he had a great year for us and I think really helped himself by coming back.”
Alongside cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, Bullard was one of the headline stars for the Gators at Pro Day.
He tested well at the combine, running the 40-yard dash in a respectable 4.93 seconds. More importantly for a trench warrior like himself, his 10-yard split of 1.7 seconds showed his initial burst at the snap.
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As a result, he chose not to do any of the running, jumping or lifting at Pro Day — Hargreaves pointed to his numbers from Indy, too. Bullard was there to put his skills on display during position drills, and he didn’t disappoint. The thud of the tackling dummies amplified when it was No. 90’s turn.
Just as Hargreaves was smoother than the other defensive backs, Bullard was the class of the linemen.
“I think I killed it today,” he said.
the waiting game
Bullard elevated his draft stock as a senior. Exactly how much remains a mystery.
There are a lot of prognosticators that predict he will join Hargreaves in Round 1, as quality defensive linemen always are a valuable commodity in the pros. Production plus versatility is an enviable formula.
That being said, the dreaded “tweener” label can be dangerous for a prospect. Bullard is fighting that about a month before draft weekend. Some coaches can envision him doing any number of things. But others prefer a plug-and-play prospect — one they know for sure can do X, Y or Z.
Lightning fast off the ball and powerful in his lower body, he jumps out on tape doing what he does best.
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“Bullard wins consistently with his first-step quickness and leverage,” said Brent Sobleski, an NFL analyst for Bleacher Report who also played, coached and scouted the offensive line. “He excels at beating blockers across their faces and taking the most direct route to whomever holds the ball in the backfield.”
But an undersized tackle with a history of minor ailments could be in for some tough sledding on Sundays.
“He can also be overwhelmed at the point of attack,” Sobleski said. “If he’s not firing off the ball with the same regularity, he struggles to defeat blocks against bigger offensive linemen.”
Hargreaves won’t escape the top 10. Bullard, conversely, could slide out of the first round entirely.
‘i deserve it’
All those marginal talents, the ones saying “oh, I’ll play anywhere” time after time, they don’t see the difference in Round 5 to the Baltimore Ravens or Round 6 to the Seattle Seahawks. They just want to play.
But for the blue-chippers near the top of the draft, where the amount of guaranteed money given to a late first-rounder is appreciably more that what’s handed to an early second-rounder, there is a difference — and not just financially. Round 1 guys get more chances than their teammates taken in Round 2.
Presently, none of the mock draft experts at NFL.com have Bullard coming off the board in the first round.
“It means a lot,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong. If you ask me, I want to be a first-rounder. I don’t think there’s any competitor that would say, ‘I want to go second round.’ If they do, then they deserve to go third round.”
Nonetheless, when Bullard was young, he imagined playing on Sunday. Not walking across a stage in a suit.
“At the end of the day, it’s a blessing to get drafted,” he said. “It’s a dream come true. It’s what I wanted to do my whole life, and just to hear my name being called on that TV is going to be unreal to me. So I’m working hard to get in that first round.”
Bullard has done all he can, including light it up at Pro Day. Ultimately, it’s not his decision to make.
“I think I deserve it,” he said. “I think I’ve worked hard, but it ain’t about what I think. It’s about what teams see in me and what fits their schemes. And I respect that.”
