The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the 2026 offseason with receiver as one of their biggest positional needs. That wasn’t a new issue, as Pittsburgh had struggled to field a competitive depth chart at receiver for quite some time.
While it wasn’t always flashy, the Steelers finally made some major moves at receiver to beef up their roster.
The first big move was adding Michael Pittman via a trade. While not a dominant receiver anymore, Pittman can still hold his own as a dependable second option. Along with him, the Steelers added Germie Bernard by way of a trade-up in the second round of the draft.
The expectation was clear early on: Bernard was going to compete for the slot role off the bat in this new-look offense. However, that hasn’t panned out so far, and it seems like the Steelers are quickly pivoting.
The Pittsburgh Steelers may not depend on Germie Bernard as a rookie
While Bernard stepping in as the primary slot receiver as a rookie sounded like a good play, it didn’t take into account Roman Wilson finally living up to some of the hype he had. Simply put, Wilson has been one of the biggest winners of training camp so far.
This isn’t a bad thing for the Steelers. It means this team can finally field a competent trio at receiver, something they haven’t done in years. If an injury were to strike, a second-round rookie feels like solid depth.
It may sound disappointing that Bernard may not be counted on right away, but this can give him time to learn the ropes and adjust to the pro game. It doesn’t mean he won’t see the field, but his year-one production could be hampered.
The Steelers seem fine with this, though, as they have leaned heavily into using Wilson with the starters. Unless something drastic occurs, he has already won the starting role and could be in line for a breakout season.
No, that doesn’t make Bernard a bust. He offers a lot of traits that should make him a fine second receiver for an offense in due time. That said, his time to shine may have to wait until 2027.
Pittsburgh appears to be steering into this, and I would expect Wilson to get a lot of the early burn at receiver once the regular season starts.
While you want your second-round pick to contribute sooner rather than later, it feels like Bernard may have to wait his turn in this new offense.
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