The pressure and demands that come with playing in the NFL can be overwhelming for some rookies, but Pittsburgh Steelers WR Germie Bernard seems ready to rise to the occasion.
“It was just all about confidence for me,” Bernard said in an interview with Johnathan Hankins on his Bigtime Talks podcast. “It’s just knowing that I’ve been playing this game for a long time, but it’s like you wouldn’t be there if you wasn’t talented enough to play. So I was just like, alright, let me step in here with some confidence and just do what I love to do, have fun with it.”
Based on his senior season at Alabama, why shouldn’t he have all the confidence in the world? He caught a career high 64 passes for 862 yards and seven touchdowns while rushing for another 101 yards and another two scores. He outproduced Ryan Coleman-Williams, who many think could be a top five selection in the 2027 NFL Draft.
That resulted in one of the most historic franchises in the NFL trading up several spots to secure his talents near the top of the second round. Bernard was the eighth receiver off the board in a very deep class at his position. Pittsburgh drafted him to be an immediate contributor, and that’s exactly what he’s preparing to be.
“Alabama helped me in a way a lot just learning how to be a pro, how to go about everything,” Bernard said. “So now for me, it’s just adapting to the playbook, how to practice, and then just how to take care of my body the right way.”
According to several beat writers who attended practice in the spring, Bernard seems to be adapting fine to the NFL playbook. He was consistently named as one of the top rookie standouts at practice. And as far as taking care of his body, he has two experienced veterans in the room with him in DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. who can show him the ropes.
The proof is in his actions, as Bernard has been hard at work with notable WR coach “Route God” for several weeks.
“I’m more of a process guy, being in the moment and being present. So I don’t even think about camp that’s come up…I’m trying to get better now,” Bernard said. “When I do go to camp, I’m able to just thrive through camp and then carry that on into the season.”
Bernard’s first big challenge will be unseating Roman Wilson as the No. 3 WR in Pittsburgh’s offense. If he can do that, he has a path to a legitimately impactful rookie season in Pittsburgh in Mike McCarthy’s West Coast Offense. If any injury occurs to the veterans in front of him, Bernard could find himself as one of the starting two receivers on the outside in Pittsburgh’s offense.
Bernard isn’t lacking confidence, but he’s also backing it up with his work. If his approach carries over into training camp, it won’t take long for him to carve out a significant role in Pittsburgh’s offense.
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