Safety competition fully up and running for Packers

GREEN BAY – Consider the Packers’ safety competition in full swing already.

In Monday’s first practice of training camp, rookie second-round draft pick Javon Bullard took the reps with the No. 1 defense alongside veteran starter Xavier McKinney.

Then in Tuesday’s second practice, it was rookie fourth-round pick Evan Williams‘ turn with McKinney and the first team. To punctuate his day, Williams snagged an interception. In the same workout, last year’s seventh-round pick Anthony Johnson Jr. also recorded a pick working with the second unit.

This is just getting started, folks.

“The coaches have made that really clear, there’s a spot that’s open,” Williams said after Tuesday’s practice. “It’s about who comes in and is able to pick up the playbook, do their responsibility as fast as they can, and really just be a playmaker.”

A third safety draft pick this season, fifth-rounder Kitan Oladapo, has yet to practice with the Packers due to a surgically repaired toe that he injured at the scouting combine. There’s no timeline set for his return, but he told reporters Tuesday it doesn’t feel too far off.

So for now, the bulk of the focus is on Bullard and Williams. With the early rotation of first-team reps in camp – a continuation from OTAs – the coaches have sent a message their draft order doesn’t matter, it’s how they perform from here on out.

Thus far, there’s plenty to like with both players, who have shifted from deep to the box on different snaps to learn, and show, as much as they can. They’ve both displayed a strong aptitude for picking up the scheme, too, for different reasons.

Bullard feels defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s system isn’t much different from what coach Kirby Smart ran at Georgia. It’s just been a matter of learning new terminology.

“Coach Haf is a DB guy, so was Kirby. Kirby was a DB guy, he played DB,” Bullard said. “It’s very similar.”

Bullard cautioned against discussing any comfort level, though, because while that might apply specifically to the X’s and O’s, it’s not his overall mindset.

“I don’t even like the word comfortable,” he said. “Especially in this profession because the second you get comfortable, somebody’s got your job. And I don’t even have a job yet.”

When that comment was relayed to Head Coach Matt LaFleur, he smiled.

“I didn’t know he said that, but that fires me up,” LaFleur…