The general feeling was that the Chicago Bears got a steal when they nabbed Florida defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard in the 3rd round of the draft.
Early on in training camp it wasn’t that obvious. Not surprising given he’s a rookie and that he was entering a system under Vic Fangio with alignments and tendencies he didn’t play much of in college. Even so, that hasn’t deterred him from working hard to get better. GM Ryan Pace has a reputation for targeting players who are driven to improve and Bullard fits that mold perfectly. Latest signs out of training camp seem to show a significant jump in progress.
Jonathan Bullard is going to make a lot of GMs regret letting him fall to the third round. #Bears
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) August 8, 2016
#Bears rookie DE Jonathan Bullard blows up a run play in the backfield, bringing down RB Ka'Deem Carey with a clothesline tackle.
— Bob LeGere (@BobLeGere) August 8, 2016
Jonathan Bullard exploded off the line and ripped down Jacquizz Rodgers right off the snap. The Bears rookie continues to impress.
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) August 8, 2016
"Rookie defensive end Jonathan Bullard had a sack against the third string offense because he got off the line of scrimmage right as the ball was snapped.Bullard’s terrific get-off was one of the traits that most attracted the Bears to him coming out of Florida. He studies tendencies in offensive linemen’s stances and the snap count to try to play as fast as possible.Well, when the third stringers were matched up, Bullard got into the backfield before tackle Dan Buccholz got out of his stance."
Of course practice is different from actual games but the fact that Bullard is showcasing the exact traits that made him such an exciting get in the draft this soon against experienced NFL offensive lineman is a great sign. Most wouldn’t have had him pegged for a great fit in a 3-4 defense but Fangio has repeated on multiple occasions that the team isn’t in the base alignment much at all. More often it switches to a four-man front, something that fits Bullard’s style given his terrific explosion and ability to play with his pads low.
With Eddie Goldman and Akiem Hicks on that same front, there is no question that the rookie is going to see a ton of single blocking whenever he’s on the field. If he lives up to his billing as expected, then opposing offenses will start having nightmares of how they’re going to handle the Chicago Bears defensive front.