The Indianapolis Colts are continuing preparations for the forthcoming NFL draft, and a recent report states that the team will meet with one of this year’s most intriguing foreign prospects.
According to Luca Evans of The Denver Post, the Colts will meet with Nigerian native Uar Bernard, who just achieved some of the most outstanding physical testing figures in history.
Bernard is one of 13 players chosen for the NFL’s International Player Pathway program in 2026. Bernard joined the program in mid-January, weighing 295 pounds and standing 32 inches tall, with a 9-foot-4-inch broad jump.
Bernard had gained 11 pounds, improved his vertical jump by 7 inches, and increased his broad jump by 1. 5 feet in less than three months. His 6% body fat at 306 pounds is virtually unheard of.
It’s like watching (Victor Wembanyama), said quarterback coach George Whitfield to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman. The figures fail to adequately characterize him. He stands 6-5 tall, weighs 310 pounds, and has a body fat percentage of 6%. NBA players do not have 6% body fat.
According to Bernard’s coach, Jordan Luallen, Bernard is the most explosive athlete he has ever seen in his life. It’s simple to understand why, since no defensive tackle prospect has ever produced stats comparable to Bernard’s.
If Bernard had competed in this year’s combine, he would have topped all defensive tackles in the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, and broad jump. He would have placed second in the bench press with 31 reps.
Ballard enjoys gambling on physicality.
His broad jump was more than a foot higher than those of combine defensive tackles, demonstrating how exceptional his lower-body explosiveness is for a player of his size.
Since becoming general manager in 2017, Chris Ballard has guided the Colts through nine drafts. One feature that distinguishes all of Ballard’s selections is his willingness to gamble on players with exceptional athletic characteristics, regardless of their performance in college.
Bernard, of course, has never played football. His game knowledge still needs to be developed, so many front offices will be hesitant to invest draft money on a player like him.
That developmental curve explains why clubs such as the Colts do their research. Pre-draft interviews and evaluations are less about what Bernard is right now and more about what he might be in the future. The IPP program was created to identify just this sort of worldwide talent—athletes with exceptional qualities who were unfamiliar with the American football pyramid.
The Colts presently have one IPP player on their roster: offensive tackle Bayron Matos. Matos has never played a snap, yet he is someone who made it to the league after growing up playing basketball in the Dominican Republic.
Indy has already addressed defensive tackle in free agency, however most of their players’ contracts are expiring. Now is the best time to plan for the future, so it would not be surprise to see Indy spend a draft pick on a developmental player such as Bernard, who can learn behind some of the game’s best in DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart.
