Steelers' Rookie Reveals An Awesome Reason As To Why He Looks So Natural After The Catch

The Pittsburgh Steelers spent three preseason games learning that Germie Bernard does not need much open grass to make a routine completion look considerably less routine. His best work after the catch has included lowering a shoulder, slipping tackles and turning short throws into chunks of offense. Bernard finally explained why carrying the football looks so natural for a rookie wideout: for a large part of his childhood, catching passes was not even his main job.

Bernard grew up playing running back, which meant the instinct to secure the ball, find daylight and deal with whoever arrives next was built long before route trees entered the conversation. Pittsburgh drafted him in the second round because he had already become a polished receiver at Alabama, but those ball-carrier habits survived every position change.

They have been easy to spot in August. Bernard caught four passes for 51 yards in the preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers, with a 25-yard catch-and-run turning a short completion into one of his better plays of the night. He finished the exhibition schedule against the Buffalo Bills by breaking a tackle on a 13-yard touchdown. During his postgame media availability, Bernard traced that ability much further back than college.

“I played running back for a very long time in my childhood. I always had the ball in my hand, so, you know, it just came from that and it just always translated. It stayed with me… Even throughout the draft process, when everybody asks, you know, what’s my strength, I always say my run after catch. And, you know, I was able to showcase that throughout these past three games,” Bernard said.

There is a difference between receiver speed and running-back instincts once the catch is secured. Some pass-catchers win by creating so much separation that the defender never gets a clean chance to tackle them. Bernard appears comfortable when that luxury disappears, squaring his shoulders, absorbing contact and choosing a path quickly.

His college résumé backs up the explanation. Bernard finished his career with 155 receptions for 2,203 yards and also carried 36 times for 184 yards and five touchdowns. That workload was not enough to make him a college running back, but it showed coaches trusted him doing more than running routes.

Pittsburgh saw the same trait before drafting him. Bernard forced 17 missed tackles during his final season at Alabama, and his ability to create after the catch became one of the qualities that separated him during the evaluation process. The Steelers did not trade up in Round 2 hoping he would become a stationary possession target.

His early camp push centered on whether he could challenge for meaningful receiver snaps. The preseason added another layer because Bernard did not merely look comfortable running Pittsburgh's concepts. Once the football reached him, the rookie repeatedly became a ball carrier again.

That skill fits neatly into Mike McCarthy's offense because Bernard does not need every touch manufactured near the sideline or 30 yards downfield. Slants, crossers and underneath throws can become worthwhile calls if the receiver adds another five or 10 yards after the catch. A coordinator gets to call the simple answer without automatically accepting the simple result.

Bernard also brings enough strength to make those opportunities less dependent on perfect blocking. The Steelers have praised his ability to play inside and outside, while his quickness helps him create an edge against defenders at the line. Once the catch is complete, the old running-back part of his game can take over.

In a receiving corps with established veterans occupying prominent roles, that gives Pittsburgh another way to create offense without force-feeding the rookie. Bernard does not need 10 targets every Sunday to change a possession. If he turns a 6-yard completion into 14, the Black and Gold get explosive-play value without designing something exotic every time it wants the football in his hands.

His preseason was not perfect. Bernard went without a catch against the New York Jets, and there will be weeks when coverage, targets and the flow of the offense leave him quiet. Run-after-catch ability only becomes relevant after the quarterback finds him.

More telling is how immediately his defining skill traveled. There was no long adjustment period required before Bernard looked comfortable with the football under his arm and a defender closing. His rookie preseason ended with the same answer he gave evaluators months earlier when they asked what he did best. Against Buffalo, he shook off a defender and turned his reception into a 13-yard touchdown.

Steelers Can Use Bernard More Than A Traditional Wideout

Bernard's childhood at running back does not mean Pittsburgh needs to line him up in the backfield every Sunday and pretend it discovered a secret position. The more useful benefit is subtler. He already thinks like a runner once the reception is complete, giving the offense another way to manufacture yards without requiring the initial throw to be spectacular.

That can become valuable on early downs, against pressure or whenever Pittsburgh needs an easy completion to stay on schedule. A five-yard throw does not have to remain a five-yard play if Bernard wins the portion that begins after the catch.

The rookie still has plenty to refine. NFL coverage will challenge his releases, route detail and ability to find space far more aggressively once regular-season game plans arrive. Those skills will determine how often the football reaches his hands.

Once it gets there, Pittsburgh already has a good idea what comes next. Bernard spent his childhood learning to think like a running back and carried those instincts with him all the way to the NFL. The Steelers drafted a receiver, but every now and then, the kid who grew up carrying the ball still takes over.

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