The Pittsburgh Steelers have made their second draft selection: wide receiver Germie Bernard out of Alabama. To ESPN analyst Cole Cubelic, it’s one heck of a selection in the second round. He thinks Bernard is an excellent receiver, comparing him to two iconic former AFC North receivers, including Hines Ward, who’s very familiar to Steelers fans.
“This guy is the epitome of a football player. I have a scary comp for this guy. I have two for you, one is Hines Ward… My other is Anquan Boldin. He is a Swiss army knife, utility player, do it all for your offense,” Cubelic said Friday during one of ESPN’s draft live streams. “Everything that needs to be done as a captain, he already handles that… You’re getting that guy every single day. And I think the Steelers just hit an absolute home run.”
That’s a very complimentary player comparison, but Bernard is certainly worthy of praise. The Steelers didn’t come into this draft needing a de facto WR1, already having two standout receivers in DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. on the roster. But Bernard is an excellent complement to those two, figuring to step in as the WR3 in his rookie year.
Germie Bernard is an excellent blocker, which is probably part of Cubelic’s comparison to Hines Ward. Bernard is physical and strong, and he isn’t afraid to stick his face in the fan, whether it’s in the run game or catching tough passes over the middle of the field. Once the ball is in his hands, he’s very hard to bring down with excellent contact balance.
But Bernard isn’t just strength and grit. He’s got some shiftiness to his game, being able to make defenders miss in the open field, and during his route breaks. He can run the entire route tree and affect the offense in a ton of different ways. Bernard saw work both in the slot and out wide at Alabama, and even took some handoffs and sweeps out of the backfield.
Hines Ward is quite a lofty comparison for Bernard. If he can even get close to that level, it will be a home run of a pick for the Steelers. But after missing out on a receiver in the first round, the Steelers certainly took a step towards making up for it by taking Bernard in the second.