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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just all about confidence for me,\u201d Bernard said in an interview with Johnathan Hankins on his Bigtime Talks podcast<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s just knowing that I\u2019ve been playing this game for a long time, but it\u2019s like you wouldn\u2019t be there if you wasn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Based on his senior season at Alabama, why shouldn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s exactly what he\u2019s preparing to be.<\/p>\n \u201cAlabama helped me in a way a lot just learning how to be a pro, how to go about everything,\u201d Bernard said. \u201cSo now for me, it\u2019s just adapting to the playbook, how to practice, and then just how to take care of my body the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n