There’s a rare opportunity in Pittsburgh for any one of the Steelers’ wide receivers to seize.
A franchise as rich in history as the Steelers is, the chance to emerge as one of the primary pass-catching options doesn’t come around too often. But second-round pick Germie Bernard is an ideal fit for the offense and a perfect candidate for the job.
Germie Bernard Drawing Comparisons to Former Steelers WR
In back-to-back offseasons, the Steelers have made a concerted attempt to fortify their receiving room. They traded a second-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for DK Metcalf last spring and, exactly a year later, traded a sixth-round pick to the Indianapolis Colts for Michael Pittman Jr. Both players agreed to new contracts upon arrival with their new teams.
That’s great news for Aaron Rodgers, whose 2026 campaign will be his last in the NFL. He’ll culminate a 22-year odyssey with a trio of talented wideouts in hopes that it will be enough to uplift the offense past the AFC Wild Card round. The Steelers are on the heels of a home playoff loss to the Houston Texans, in which their offense mustered only six measly points.
Enter Bernard, the third member of the trio and the latest second-round pick that the Steelers are hoping to strike gold on. The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo has seen firsthand how Bernard has looked throughout OTAs and minicamp as the rookie acclimates to the professional lifestyle.
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“In terms of his physical dimensions and playing style, Bernard reminds me in some ways of JuJu Smith-Schuster,” writes DeFabo. “The second-round pick isn’t going to wow you with any single part of his game. He has good size at 6-1 and 207 pounds, but he’s not towering. He has solid speed at 4.48, but he’s not necessarily a burner.”
Alabama’s Bernard was the eighth receiver off the board in this year’s draft, taken by the Steelers at No. 47 overall. It’s the ninth time that the Steelers have spent a day-two pick on a wide receiver since 2014, with Bernard joining the likes of George Pickens, Chase Claypool, and Smith-Schuster. Five of those players were drafted in the second round, including Bernard.
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“When you package it all together, however, he’s a well-rounded and versatile receiver who should find ways to make an impact this year,” DeFabo writes.
If Bernard can blossom into the player that Smith-Schuster was for the Steelers, that’d certainly be a welcome addition to their receiving corps. Smith-Schuster played the first five years of his career in Pittsburgh and caught 323 passes for 3,855 yards and 26 touchdowns. His entire tenure was spent with Ben Roethlisberger as his quarterback.
Smith-Schuster has yet to return to the heights he ascended to during his lone Pro Bowl season in 2018, when he surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the first and only time in his career. He caught 111 passes for 1,426 yards, which ranked No. 5 in the league.
With Rodgers under center and a duo of Metcalf and Pittman paving the way, there’s no reason why Bernard can’t match and potentially even eclipse Smith-Schuster’s early-stage trajectory. Of course, everyone looks tremendous during this time of year before the pads come on. The training camp slate later this summer will truly begin to separate projections from reality.
