With 10 rookies on their roster, there are a lot of storylines to consider during the Steelers’ offseason workouts. Especially in this final week of OTAs, which mostly consists of young players. Through OTAs and mandatory minicamp, one offensive rookie is already making his presence known.
“Germie Bernard really carries himself like a pro. Seems like he’s been doing this forever, and he has a chance to help this offense as a rookie,” Ray Fittipaldo said Thursday on 93.7 The Fan.
Bernard comes into his NFL career with high expectations after the Steelers moved up in the second round to draft him. His skill after the catch and ability to get open quickly figures to make him a receiver Aaron Rodgers will trust. Bernard will have the chance to thrive in multiple roles as he is able to play from the slot and out wide while having some capabilities as a gadget player.
Fittipaldo is far from the first to praise Bernard, with some of it coming from his veteran teammates. And Bernard isn’t the only rookie turning some heads so far.
“Daylen Everette got a lot of run, he got a lot of reps against the Steelers’ top receivers,” Fittipaldo said. “Like the other guys, up and down. Good moments and bad moments. But he had a lot of exposure to some really good receivers here in the early going. I think it’s gonna make him better.”
As a third-round rookie, he’s of course had some down moments, but has had good ones as well. Which is encouraging since he’s faced the Steelers’ top receivers often. He’s got to iron his game out and develop his instincts further, but Everette has some intriguing traits. It seems those are showing themselves so far.
It’s a tougher road to playing time for him with the Steelers having depth at cornerback. On the outside, Joey Porter Jr., Jamel Dean and Asante Samuel Jr. figure to start the season ahead of him on the depth chart. However, Everette could earn a bigger role as the year goes on. And without as much depth in the slot, that might even be a quicker route to playing time.
At the end of the day, it’s only OTAs, so there’s not too much to glean from them. Once training camp rolls around these rookies will be tested quite a bit more. For now, Bernard and Everette are the two Steelers rookies impressing Fittipaldo the most.
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