PITTSBURGH -- It might be a bit too early to state this, but the Pittsburgh Steelers have a new star at wide receiver. Germie Bernard, the team's rookie second-round draft pick, has come up huge two weeks in a row for the offense.
As the Steelers face more and more injuries on the offensive side of the ball, Bernard has met the moment. He's been the team's best receiver over the past two games, producing 17 receptions for 167 yards and a touchdown to help navigate the franchise to back-to-back wins.
Through six games, Bernard is up to 227 receiving yards. That total ranks third among all NFL rookies, trailing just Cleveland Browns pass-catcher Denzel Boston and Tennessee Titans first-round pick Carnell Tate.
But Bernard has everything going for him, and it's putting him in position to be the first Steelers rookie to win the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year Award since Ben Roethlisberger accomplished that feat in 2004.
Bernard Keeps Working
What separates Bernard from so many others is his work ethic. He meets every moment with the same drive and determination, and he's never fazed. All season long, he's been challenged by Aaron Rodgers in the locker room and meetings, whether that's pop quizzes in the facility or asking him not to make the same mistake twice, and he's responded to a satisfactory degree, according to the starting QB.
That mentality has been consistent since he arrived in Pittsburgh. Whatever the challenge, he is unbothered and confident in himself. It's not arrogance or boasting, or anything close to that; it's a belief in himself that can only be described as beyond his years.
"There comes a time when the confidence starts to match the potential, and I think we're reaching that time with Germie," Rodgers recently said about his rookie wideout. "Very proud of him."
"My confidence comes from my relationship with God, so I hold confidence within myself," Bernard said earlier this season. "I have a high expectation of myself, so I know that I can go out there and make plays and know I wouldn't be here for no reason. That's where my confidence comes from. It doesn't come from making plays or anything like that. It comes internally."
The Rodgers Factor
Bernard is an incredible first-year player, but the biggest reason why you should buy Bernard being a legitimate OROY candidate is his quarterback. Compared to what his competition has under center, it's somewhat easy to predict who will have the most success the rest of the way.
The Titans are a mess. At 1-5, they are in the basement of the AFC South. Their second-year quarterback, Cam Ward, is still struggling. Even with the volume of targets Tate receives, betting on him to keep producing is a tough ask.
Even more discouraging is the number of yards Tate accumulated in one game. His best performance came against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4, totaling 145 receiving yards on nine receptions.
Outside of that game, his next best performance is 70 yards in Week 6. There is a boom-or-bust factor to playing with a still developing quarterback like Ward, but unless Tate has a few more performances like Week 4, he won't be at the top of the rookie leaderboard at season's end.
The same concern can be expressed for Boston. Deshaun Watson may be a ticking time bomb. While the Browns are 4-2 through six games, they've achieved that mostly despite Watson's play. He's completed less than 64% of his passes and has thrown for more than 250 yards just once this season. Credit to Watson for not turning the ball over, with two interceptions to seven touchdowns, but he's earned as much confidence from his organization as Ward has in Tennessee.
Meanwhile, Bernard has a future Hall of Fame QB throwing him the ball. The two are building a nice rapport, evidenced by their Week 5 and 6 connections. If that continues, Bernard could be topping the leaderboards and kissing 1,000 yards when the regular season comes to an end.
And that could make Bernard just the fourth player in team history to capture the illustrious award.
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