Alabama WR Germie Bernard Scouting Report
Can't Guard Bernard
Image 1: WR Germie Bernard (5) making a play with the ball in his hands
Height: 6’1
Weight: 204
Position: WR
Year: Senior
Background
Image 2: WR Germie Bernard (2) breaking a tackle in his final season at Liberty High School
Born on December 2, 2003, Germie Bernard was a Four-Star WR prospect in the class of 2022 coming out of Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada. Ranked as the 38th WR in the nation and 5th player from Nevada, Bernard received major P4 attention due to his physicality, size, and RAC ability. Initially committed to Washington, Bernard was granted his release after Washington WR coach Junior Adams left the program for Oregon. Wishing to play with his HS QB Katin Houser, Bernard committed to Michigan State.
As a Spartan, Bernard was expected to take a big initial role with the departure of Jalen Nailor, but he was mainly a rotational player as a freshman, falling behind rising star Keon Coleman and upperclassmen Jayden Reed/Tre Mosley. After the 2022 season, Bernard would enter the transfer portal to once again commit to Washington. Though his production was meager due to playing behind NFL talents like Rome Odunze, Ja’lynn Polk, and Jalen McMillian, Bernard played a key rotational role for the Huskies during their National Championship run. After his HC Kalen DeBoer left Washington, Bernard entered the portal in 2023 to be one of many former Huskies join DeBoer at Alabama. While the spotlight on the 2023 season was taken over by then-true freshman star WR Ryan Williams, Bernard proved himself to be a reliable target after becoming a productive WR2 for Alabama’s offense. While Alabama’s 2024 season had a host of issues regarding the offense, Bernard has continued to be reliable, leading Alabama in receptions and yardage. Though he lacks the same media buzz as other WRs, Bernard enters the 2026 NFL draft as an underrated prospect who could be a major riser in the postseason process.
Athletic Tools
With a thick, rocked-up build, Germie Bernard has great play strength for a WR that shows up in the run and pass game. Whether aligned tight or doing work in the second level, Bernard is a hard-nosed, physical blocker who has shown the ability to displace EDGEs in the run game. When running routes and getting off the LOS, Bernard does a great job of remaining unbothered when fighting through physical coverage. For teams that highly value skill position blocking (Ex. Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Jacksonville), Bernard is a perfect scheme fit.
Video 1: WR Germie Bernard (5) in a condensed formation contributing as a run blocker
Video 2: WR Germie Bernard (5) climbs to the second level and cracks the DB
Video 3: WR Germie Bernard (5) blocks the EDGE on the crack toss concept for a TD
Video 4: WR Germie Bernard (5) uses his size and hand fighting to get off the LOS
Video 5: WR Germie Bernard (5) pushes off at the stem to get separation against man coverage
When he has the ball in his hands, Bernard’s play strength allows him to effectively brush off arm tackles and continue upfield. While he is not a twitchy or explosive athlete, Bernard has good fluidity and solid agility to make defenders miss in space. Bernard’s combination of physical traits makes him an incredibly dangerous RAC/YAC weapon on designed targets or after receptions downfield.
Video 6: WR Germie Bernard (5) catches a screen pass then uses a jump cut to force a missed tackle and brushes off the arm tackle
Video 7: WR Germie Bernard (5) runs a flat and uses a jump cut to force a missed tackle
Video 8: WR Germie Bernard (5) on a WR pass play that results in him scrambling
Video 9: WR Germie Bernard (5) pushes off to separate against man coverage and uses his fluidity to spin up field
Bernard’s biggest issue is his mediocre athletic tools. With poor speed and acceleration, Bernard struggles to consistently separate against man coverage on the boundary. Even when facing off-man, Bernard is not going to be a player that is going to effectively eat up the cushion of NFL DBs. While he does decelerate well at the top of his routes, Bernard’s lack of deep speed will make separating on digs/comebacks more difficult, as DBs are not going to be worried about Bernard winning deep. Due to this, Bernard is a player I believe projects best as a big slot who uses the additional space to be a short-to-intermediate weapon.
Video 10: WR Germie Bernard (5) takes an outside release and gets blanketed
Video 11: WR Germie Bernard (5) wins leverage off the LOS but lacks the deep speed and explosiveness to exploit this
Video 12: WR Germie Bernard (5) driving his hips to decelerate at the stem of the comeback
Technicals
While he lacks the necessary athletic tools to be a great man coverage separator, Bernard is a very clean route runner. With clean speed cuts, Bernard is good at running in and out breaking route concepts. Bernard lacks the twitch and deep speed needed to be a high-end route salesman, but he has various moves like rocker steps to fake out DBs and get open. Combined with solid release off the LOS, Bernard is a ready year one route runner who can run an NFL route tree.
Video 13: WR Germie Bernard (5) has a textbook speed cut to get open on the dig
Video 14: WR Germie Bernard (5) uses an inside fake at the stem of the out
Video 15: WR Germie Bernard (5) uses a rocker step at the stem of the quick out
Bernard makes up for his lack of separation by being a highly reliable pass catcher. With great body control to adjust to balls, Bernard regularly hauls in poorly placed passes. Though he does occasionally body catch, Bernard does a good job of securing passes outside his frame with his hands. Beyond having reliable hands, Bernard has good awareness when staying inside the boundary lines when securing catches or finding soft spots in zone coverage to create easy completions for his QB.
Video 16: WR Germie Bernard (5) adjusts to a low ball
Video 17: WR Germie Bernard (5) high pointing an overthrown pass
Video 18: WR Germie Bernard (5) secures the ball outside his frame while in stride
Video 19: WR Germie Bernard (5) keeping both feet in bounds despite being targeted late on the shallow crosser
Video 20: WR Germie Bernard (5) settles in the soft spot of the zone and works upfield
While his RAC/YAC ability was covered previously, Bernard’s intelligence makes him even more dangerous in space. Whether he is taking smart angles, chaining spins/cuts, or reading blocks downfield, Bernard does a phenomenal job of maximizing the potential yardage on his RAC/YAC opportunities. Due to his ability to read blocks, Bernard has occasionally aligned in the backfield and gotten carries. While the wide-back concept is not heavily utilized, Bernard is going to be a dangerous player on sweeps and screens in the NFL.
Video 21: WR Germie Bernard (5) takes smart angles to constantly find open space
Video 22: WR Germie Bernard (5) finds the open hole on a sweep
Video 23: WR Germie Bernard (5) gets a carry in the backfield and reads the blocks well
Draft Projection
Germie Bernard currently has a mid-to-late day two grade. Bernard does not have the athletic tools to be a true WR1, but he is going to be a great short-to-intermediate weapon as a WR2/3. By being a high-end blocker who is good at creating yardage after the catch, Bernard fits the archetype of block and RAC WR that ends up being valuable, productive NFL players (Ex. Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers, and Jauan Jennings). If paired with a field-stretching WR that can open up the field, Bernard is a player I believe can be a highly impactful and productive starter.
Athletic Testing
Will be updated after the NFL Combine/Alabama Pro Day
Pro Comparison
Image 3: WR Chris Godwin (14) making a play in the open field as a Buccaneer
A sturdy and tough WR, Chris Godwin reminds me a lot of Germie Bernard. While he lacks the athletic tools to be a truly elite separator, Godwin’s blocking, hands, and RAC/YAC have made him a highly reliable secondary WR for Tampa Bay. Though his production relies heavily on Mike Evans’ presence, Godwin has been a valuable staple of Tampa Bays’ offense. If he is able to land in a WR room with a field-stretching WR1, Bernard could have a very similar career to Chris Godwin.
Date Published: 01/30/2026
Date Last Updated: 01/30/2026