The cornerback room was the clear weakness of Green Bay’s defense heading into the 2025 season. The Packers entered Week 14 against the Bears with zero interceptions from their corners — a streak finally broken when Keisean Nixon picked off Caleb Williams in the end zone to seal the game.

Still, one of the most improved members of that group — and honestly, of the entire team — has been Javon Bullard. He’s been playing with so much confidence and swag, and it’s great to see him in his element. He’s been instinctive, flying to the football and making impact plays every week.

Today’s Hottest Take: Bullard has played like a top-three slot CB in the NFL.

Bullard has spent the early part of his Green Bay career splitting time between post safety and slot duties, but he’s undeniably in his element when he’s near the line of scrimmage. That’s where the Packers have been letting him play — and they’re getting the results to prove it.

“He's the type of guy that I'm confident playing back at safety, playing at nickel. He can kind of do it all. He can play in the half, he can play in the middle of the field, he can insert in the run game and he can blitz,” Jeff Hafley said of Bullard in November.

“There's times we do want to get him back there in certain situations, in certain personnel groupings that we feel are better, where there's some down-and-distances where we're comfortable with that,” he added. “We just try to rotate him in, and it's also depending how much he's been at nickel and how many reps he's had. We need to get him involved in the game, because he's really a player you don't want to take off the field.”

What You Need To Know: Bullard hasn’t even been fully healthy.

The Packers have had an extensive list of players on the injury report over the last few weeks, and Bullard has been part of it. He didn’t practice on Tuesday and Friday ahead of Green Bay’s clash with Chicago. Yet he was active and played on Sunday, which says a lot about how the coaching staff views him.

"Just having some lingering effects, so we thought it would be best to shut him down and see how he progresses over the course of the week,” Matt LaFleur said on Friday.

Bullard has been one of Green Bay’s five highest-graded defenders in each of the last five games. He’s also the team’s highest-graded defensive back in coverage this season. For context, he ranked 24th in coverage grade for the Packers last year — the lowest among all starters in the secondary.

Before You Go: Bullard’s ascension gives Hafley more versatility on the back end.

The Packers have fully embraced versatility as a core roster-building philosophy, and it has paid off. A healthy Bullard can impact all three levels of the defense, and his ascension has become central to that approach. Sustaining this level of play will only elevate Hafley’s unit moving forward.

Bullard’s growth also gives Hafley far more flexibility to vary his looks and disguises. Green Bay can rely on Nate Hobbs’ extensive slot experience and Nixon’s versatility there as well. With multiple defensive backs capable of handling different roles, the Packers can present unscouted looks and keep opposing offenses constantly guessing.