Meet Uar Bernard, the athletic marvel and Eagles draft pick who has never played football
Bernard will try follow the same path as Jordan Mailata, another Eagle who was developed out of the NFL's International Pathway Program.
The good news about the Eagles’ seventh-round pick is that he’s an unbelievable athlete — boasting a ridiculous 6% body fat percentage despite being 306 pounds.
The bad news? He’s never played a down of organized football.
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The Eagles on Saturday selected Nigerian defensive line prospect Uar Bernard with the No. 251 pick in the 2026 NFL draft. He’s a product of the the NFL’s International Player Pathway (IPP) program who ran a 4.63 in the 40-yard dash and reached 39 inches in the vertical jump.
The 21-year-old Bernard is a football novice, beginning training in the International Player Pathway program on Jan. 18, according to The Athletic. Now, a little over four months later, he’s in the NFL.
“It’s a dream come true for me because I’ve worked hard for this,” Bernard said after being introduced via Zoom call by the Eagles on Saturday. “I’ve not played football, but I’ve gone through some drills that made me believe that I’m going to get better every day. I thank God for everything. I thank God for life. I thank God for the opportunities given to me to be drafted by the Eagles.”
Bernard didn’t just fall in the Eagles’ lap either. General manager Howie Roseman said drafting him was part of the plan on a third day when the team acquired two additional draft picks in the seventh round.
“Adding in that seventh [round] this year was important,” Roseman said in his post-draft press conference Saturday night. “We wanted to take the chance on [Bernard]. We’ve had great success with that program. We spent a lot of time with him.
“Just for us, it was a passion project … We spend a lot of time talking about ‘unusual.’ It’s certainly unusual with that guy.”
As The Athletic reported in early April, Bernard’s original plan was to go into real estate. His football journey began when a coach noticed him while playing basketball in his small village in Nigeria. Bernard then attended multiple camps across Africa to get noticed by the IPP program. From there, Bernard turned the heads of several scouts with an impressive showing at the NFL’s HBCU showcase.
How much did he know about American football before the IPP? Well, not much.
“Before the IPP, I was introduced to football by (former NFL player) Osi Umenyiora,” Bernard said. “So I was back home watching drills about pass rush and walking into the trenches with my coaches back home, learning techniques … But I can walk into the trenches.”
The Eagles benefited from the IPP eight years ago when they drafted left tackle Jordan Mailata — an ex-rugby player from Australia turned NFL All-Pro — who wound up being the program’s most notable success story. The team also signed IPP defensive lineman Joshua Weru, a rugby player from Kenya, as an undrafted free agent on Saturday.
Mailata, the face of the IPP program, first met Bernard in Fort Myers, Florida during the pre-draft process. The pair of teammates reconnected over the phone shortly after Bernard was taken.
“I’m so hyped I have a headache,” Mailata told The Athletic.
“The first time I met [Mailata], he told me to use my talent to bless my family,” Bernard said. “I believe that’s coming true.”
Now comes the hard part for Bernard, who must prove that his physical traits can translate into on-field success for the Eagles. The team, Roseman said, is willing to be patient with his development.
“He’s got a lot of tools in his body, but understand it’s going to take time,” Roseman cautioned. “It’s going to take a lot of time here. But it’s pretty cool.”