Tampa needs a pass rusher and they could very well look back to the Univesity of Florida to find another defensive player to add to the roster. Defensive end Johnathan Bullard did not take long making his presence felt, during his freshman year at UF. He played in all 13 games and started two of them. As a true freshman, he recorded 27 tackles, five for losses and 1.5 sacks.
Injuries kept the DE to only 11 games but his production took a step forward. In those 11 games, he managed 33 tackles and another 1.5 sacks, while starting eight games. In 2014, he fared a slight bit better, with 52 tackles, and 2.5 sacks.
Deciding against turning pro in 2015, he went on to finish up his college career with a school record of 17.5 tackles for losses, 6.5 sacks and earning First Team All-SEC honors.
During his career with the Gators, he lined up in just about every position on the defensive line, and can play in the 3-4 or the 4-3 scheme. He is best known as a base defensive end.
Bullard can play the run well, and is versatile enough to play the pass as well. He has an impressive lower-body strength and has the size to set the outside edge to uphold containment responsibilities. What he lacks is the ability to open a lane to pursue the quarterback, but any good NFL defensive coordinator can refine that issue. He can explode off the ball well and has a knack of getting into passing lanes, distracting opposing quarterbacks. He is very good at locating the football quickly.
I am not saying he is a sure lock at 39th, but as far as solid, and trainable DE’s goes, he’s not a bad option if he’s still available.
