Vikings Sign Veteran Defensive Lineman Jonathan Bullard to Add Depth
The Vikings are continuing to round out their roster with veteran depth. A couple days after signing wide receiver Albert Wilson, Minnesota has added 28-year-old defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard, according to the NFL's transactions wire.
This comes one day after the Vikings were reportedly one of eight teams to put in a waiver claim for a similar type of player in John Cominsky, who wound up going to the Lions.
At 6'3", 290 pounds, Bullard is a solid fit as a 3-4 defensive end in the Vikings' new scheme. It's a scheme that he knows, having played under Vic Fangio and Ed Donatell for the first three years of his career. Donatell, now the defensive coordinator in Minnesota, was Fangio's right-hand man for over a decade.
Bullard had a standout career at Florida, highlighted by a senior season in 2015 with 6.5 sacks and 18 total tackles for loss. He was drafted by the Bears in the third round, No. 72 overall, in 2016. Bullard was picked that high in part due to his production, but also because he tested very well athletically, which may have indicated that he hadn't yet reached his ceiling as a player.
That's a great athletic profile for a player listed as a defensive tackle coming out of college. That the Vikings signed someone with an elite ten-yard split is no coincidence.
Despite showing some early flashes, Bullard's career never took off in Chicago. He started just five of 46 games over three seasons, with two sacks, nine TFLs, and four pass breakups. His best season was in 2017, when he played 437 snaps and got a solid 66.6 grade from PFF, largely due to his 75.9 run defense grade. Bullard missed just one tackle, forced a fumble, and picked up his second career sack that year.
In 2019, after being waived by the Bears in final roster cuts, Bullard was claimed by the Cardinals. He started six games for Arizona that year and recorded career highs of 1.5 sacks and five quarterback hits.
In October 2020, Bullard was poached off the Cardinals' practice squad by the Seahawks. Last offseason, he signed a one-year deal with the Falcons and ended up making four starts.
At this point, Bullard is a known commodity. He's a journeyman defensive lineman who has just enough talent to continue to be pursued by teams and play at a passable level, but not enough to make a major impact or stick around long in one place. Maybe that will change with the Vikings, but it seems unlikely. Bullard is more of a run-stuffer than a pass-rusher, as he has never recorded more than 12 pressures in a season. However, he's not entirely devoid of pass-rush ability as an interior player.
This is a solid move to add some veteran depth to Minnesota's defensive line, but it doesn't move the needle much. By putting in a claim for Cominsky a 6'5", 285-pound DE) and then signing Bullard, it seems like the Vikings don't love their options at the 3-4 DE spot. Because they're transitioning from a 4-3 defense, players like D.J. Wonnum, Patrick Jones II, and Janarius Robinson are more traditional defensive ends, while players like Armon Watts and James Lynch are traditional defensive tackles.
This move to sign Bullard adds another player in the mold of fifth-round Esezi Otomewo, an in-between player who fits up front in a 3-4. Bullard will be competing with players like Otomewo, Lynch, Jaylen Twyman, Jullian Taylor, and T.Y. McGill for a spot on the roster.
The Vikings have not yet announced the move. When they do, they'll announce a corresponding move to clear a spot on the 90-man roster.
Update: the corresponding move is that DE Kenny Willekes was waived with an injury designation, according to Chris Tomasson.
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