Calen Bullock – safety – 20 years old – Junior – USC
Height: 1m89
Weight: 85 kilograms
2023 stats: 42 tackles, 7 passes defended, 2 interceptions, 1 touchdown
Estimated draft position: Third-fourth round
NFL Comparison: Grant Delpit
The safety class is homogeneous for this year 2024 and several profiles are available. Calen Bullock offers us a very contrasting and polarizing portrait of himself. He's not for every team, but he's a captivating player.
Calen Bullock Highlights
– Instinct
– Athlete
– Hands
Very young, Calen Bullock has the qualities that very often define players of his age.
Athletically, the player from the University of the Trojans is above the other prospects in the draft, he has very good speed allowing him to cover a large area of the field as evidenced by his 4.48 seconds in the 40 yard dash. Combined. He is very fluid in his changes of direction to be able to attack an area that he does not cover and thus be a participant in the action.
It offers a very interesting combination between its large size and its significant wingspan. This allows him to be at his advantage against a large number of receivers when he defends in press and to play the ball on a countless number of passes hindering the reception or succeeding in an interception.
His athleticism is coupled with excellent instincts for attempting and making interceptions. With his size and his arms, he is formidable in this area. Plus, he has receiver hands to catch passes thrown his way.
Weaknesses of Calen Bullock
– Tackles
– Power
– Football IQ
Very often being a “libero” on the field, he is the last bastion in defense and unfortunately, he has big gaps in tackles. Indeed, he has a ratio of more than 10% of missed tackles in the 2023 season. He has a very poor reading of the different opposing races and most of the time takes very bad angles to tackle the ball carrier.
Despite his above-average athletic qualities, he still has one flaw at this level: his power. Indeed, this lack of power is detrimental in the NFL and it does not help him tackle his opponents and he can therefore leave yards after contact. In addition, he is too often too aggressive in looking for the big tackle when he lacks power… His lack of muscle is also damaging when he has to take on a tight end in marking.
Despite his very good instincts and his qualities of playmaker, Calen Bullock has a very poor Football IQ. He too often followed his instinct and was very often fooled by changes of direction on the receivers' routes. He has difficulty recognizing the different plays called and gets fooled on fake plays.
Possible destinations
Tennessee Titans, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys.
Calen Bullock is a project, he cannot start from the first week in the NFL. He has too many gaps in his profile. His Football IQ, his power deficit and his tackling are the areas he must work on to be able to exist in the NFL. Despite everything, he has unique qualities that make him an interesting prospect such as his skills as playmaker, his athletic qualities and his young age. Pure free safety, it would be perfect as single high (alone in coverage in the middle of the field) in coverage 1 or 3.
Any team that can incubate him behind a starter and looking for depth at the position may be interested in the USC Trojans player. It takes time to polish this rough diamond.
