{"id":857684,"date":"2026-04-06T22:45:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T22:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/857684\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T22:45:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T22:45:17","slug":"colts-to-meet-with-freakishly-athletic-ipp-prospect-ahead-of-the-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/857684\/","title":{"rendered":"Colts to meet with freakishly athletic IPP prospect ahead of the NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

The International Player Pathway (IPP) has been an avenue for international draft prospects since early 2016. Created by the NFL to help bridge the gap between its sport and the rest of the world, this pipeline of sorts has seen fewer success stories than it has failed journeys. This is typically due to a lack of resources and\/or exposure of the sport elsewhere; however, there have been notable wins out of the portal, such as Eagles star left tackle Jordan Mailata<\/a> (Australia).<\/p>\n

The intrigue and fascination surrounding this year\u2019s top IPP prospect is solely based on his almost obscene athletic testing numbers and general measurables. Uar Bernard (pronounced \u201cooh-are\u201d) was a hot topic of draft circle discourse last week for this very reason, thanks to the reporting from The Athletic\u2019s Bruce Feldman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bernard showed up to the HBCU showcase last week ready to prove that he physically belongs in the NFL, and he did just that and then some. Perhaps his football experience (or lack thereof) will ultimately hold him back from a successful career, but it\u2019s objectively impossible to deny his athletic feats.<\/p>\n

His frame is impressive enough as he stands at 6\u20194.5\u201d, 306 lbs, and sports 11-inch bear paws and near-36-inch arms, but it was his athleticism that blew all draftniks away.<\/p>\n

Bernard not only ran a 4.63 sec 40-yard-dash, but he also vertical-jumped 39 inches and broad-jumped 10-10 \u2014 14 inches more than any defensive tackle in the 2026 draft class. His trainer, Jordan Luallen<\/a>, has coached up plenty of \u2018freak athletes\u2019 during his time as a professional, but Bernard takes the cake.<\/p>\n

\u201cHands down, he is the most explosive athlete I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d Luallen told Feldman. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen anything like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, the Chris Ballard<\/a>-managed Colts are legitimately interested in Uar Bernard\u2019s early body of work. Being known to favor perhaps unproven players who are also confirmed to be top athletes is this front office\u2019s calling card, so despite the recent deviation from the norm, using their open IPP exemption on a low-risk, high-reward player such as Bernard makes all the sense in the world. Additionally, this addition wouldn\u2019t use a draft selection nor would it count against the 53-man roster.<\/p>\n

NFL analyst Ryan Fowler also reports that<\/a>, on top of his scheduled visits with the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos, Bernard has gained legitimate interest from the following teams: San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, and Minnesota Vikings.<\/p>\n