The fourth question in our twenty question series- Is Jonathan Bullard set to break out this year?
When Ryan Pace selected Jonathan Bullard in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, the pick was met with high praise from every draft pundit around. Most expected Bullard to go in the second round, so when the Bears were able to nab him in round three, it was considered an absolute steal.
So far through two NFL seasons, Bullard’s career has been rather underwhelming. Bullard has only started four games (playing 30 overall) and has only tallied two sacks over that time with one forced fumble. It would be one thing if Bullard couldn’t beat out Akiem Hicks for playing time, but Bullard couldn’t beat out Mitch Unrein. Nothing against Unrein, but he’s a great rotational DE, but he’s someone who Bullard definitely should have been able to beat out for a starting spot on the defense.
Bullard’s second year was better than his first. Bullard rookie season had so many growing pains that he was actually a healthy scratch for one game. Since then, the Bears’ coaches have lauded his effort in both of his offseasons with the franchise, but will it result with a bigger impact on the field?
Based on his PFF grades, Bullard only scored a 46.8 in his rookie season which placed him in the “poor” category. Last season, Bullard finished with a 75.8 which was good enough for “average.” PFF saw improvement last season, but what does that mean for Bullard?
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Unrein is gone now, so the path is clear for Bullard to step in and start this season. But if he continues to underwhelm, someone like Roy Robertson-Harris, or perhaps even rookie Bilal Nichols could step in and steal the starting spot from underneath Bullard.
If Bullard continues to improve like he did from 2016 to 2017, he should have nothing to worry about and he will be starting opposite Hicks this season on the defense. But like Amos, Bullard needs to prove that he’s more than just a “be in the right place” type of player. The Bears are going to want him to start making impactful plays.
Bullard has a lightning quick first step, and if he utilizes it properly (like he did at Florida) he can be a TFL machine for a defense. But to this point, that quick step hasn’t materialized much during regular season games. If you watch Bullard closely during the preseason, you have seen it in action and seen how useful it can be.
Why hasn’t Bullard been able to make the jump to that next level? It may simply be that the jump in competition neutralizes his effectiveness, but it may also be that his development has just taken a touch longer than perhaps the Bears’ expected and that this season is finally going to be the time to see the Bullard that everyone loved as a prospect in 2016.
Despite Bullard’s improvement according to PFF, his impact on the field still seemed pedestrian on tape. To be honest, average seems far too generous for what Bullard did on the field. At this point, it doesn’t seem like Bullard’s ceiling isn’t much more than what we’ve seen.
If that’s the case, Bullard will split time with some of the other 5-Techs on the roster and will probably play out his time in Chicago over the next two seasons and the Bears will let him move on after the 2019 season.
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This season is the time for Bullard to make the jump. The Bears are going to need to see some significant growth this season and next season if they are going to want to invest in him moving forward. If he underwhelms this season and improves in his fourth year, it may not be enough of a body of work for Ryan Pace and the rest of the front office to invest in Bullard.
The time is now, Bullard needs to step up and become the player the Bears thought he could be. He has the talent to make that jump, but based on the player we’ve seen on the field the past two seasons, it doesn’t seem likely at this point that he becomes that player.