The NFL looks far and wide for talent. Its 2026 search may have brought the freakiest prospect in history. It’s a big headline given how many workout warriors there have been, and it promises no success. But Uar (pronounced “ooh-are”) Bernard is catching the attention of draftniks interested in learning more about the prospect with arguably the best athletic profile in recent NFL draft memory.
Bernard is part of the NFL’s International Pathway Program (IPP), instituted several years ago in order to give people overseas – often with limited or no football experience – a chance to live an NFL dream. Pittsburgh has even shown interest in them in the past, once bringing in rugby player and boxer OT Travis Clayton for a visit. The Buffalo Bills drafted him in the seventh round. Tonga OT Giovanni Manu started Week 5 for the Detroit Lions this season. Jordan Mailata is easily the most successful example, becoming a franchise left tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles.
The IPP isn’t just a good story. There’s been tangible success.
Listed as a defensive lineman, Bernard is attempting to be the next. At his workout, he wow’d in ways few have before. Per Lance Zierlein, Bernard weighed in at 6045, 306 pounds. He has 35 3/5-inch arms, 11-inch hands, and nearly an 86-inch wingspan. His 40 time sat in the mid-high 4.6’s, he jumped 39 inches in the vertical, 10’10” in the broad, and put up 31 reps on the bench press (all the more impressive given his long arms).
Numbers aside – just look at him. He’s lab-built.
Here were his measurements and testing. The greatest combo of physical traits and athletic performance/testing I've ever seen. He's extremely raw and just started playing so he's a practice squad type at best but teams bet on traits so he he could be a late 7th or a PFA. https://t.co/fC72owDQ9j pic.twitter.com/nbgZPNVdY4
— Lance Zierlein (@LanceZierlein) April 3, 2026
Zierlein, son of former Steelers’ offensive line coach Larry, is often measured in his takes. He’s been writing reports on prospects forever and few are better. It’s why NFL.com trusts him to produce the site’s reports. Even he couldn’t hide his excitement about Bernard.
“Never seen anything like it,” he tweeted Friday morning.
Never seen anything like it. Doesn't make him a good football player but does make him an elite speciman and an absolute creature as the scouting community would say.
— Lance Zierlein (@LanceZierlein) April 3, 2026
So who is Bernard? The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, king of honoring college football’s “freak athletes,” appropriately wrote the article on Bernard’s background. Born in Nigeria (in this video, he says he grew up in Kano), he grew up playing basketball and got exposed to American Football through YouTube clips. Here’s a six-year-old video of him dunking with ease.
Joining the IPP, he’s been trained by Jordan Luallen in Florida. Bernard attended the HBCU Showcase held in the Washington Commanders’ practice facility, where he turned out his immaculate workout this past Monday.
Skyler Fulton, head of the IPP, is confident Bernard will get drafted. Zierlein is inclined to agree. A team will choose the upside of Bernard in the seventh round in the hopes of rounding out the predictable rough edges in his game.
It’s worth the risk, which is to say, there isn’t much of one. Seventh-round picks come and go, and Bernard will carry international exempt status. That’ll allow teams to carry 91 players during the summer and 17 on the practice squad, a perfect “stash” for his rookie season while he learns the ropes. Pittsburgh has three seventh-round selections. Using one on Bernard certainly makes sense.
The NFL Draft is full of workout warriors. The phrase is coined for Mike Mamula, a 7th overall pick in 1995 who wow’d in his testing but never had a meaningful career. Vernon Gholston is a more recent example. But those were top-end picks with high expectations. Bernard isn’t in that camp. But he’s in a league of his own. He’s the most athletic freak the draft has ever seen. What does that mean for his career? No one knows. But some NFL team is about to take the chance and find out.
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