{"id":937200,"date":"2026-07-05T09:18:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T09:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/937200\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T09:18:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T09:18:23","slug":"eagles-assistant-makes-bold-claim-about-seventh-round-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/937200\/","title":{"rendered":"Eagles assistant makes bold claim about seventh-round pick"},"content":{"rendered":"

Uar Bernard has an absurd physical upside, and that\u2019s what Philly will try to lean on while he fully learns the sport.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Jan
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJan 29, 2026; Mobile, AL, USA; National Team head coach Clint Hurtt of the Philadelphia Eagles checks his notes during National Senior Bowl practice at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVasha Hunt-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Philadelphia Eagles may have found a hidden gem in the final round of the 2026 NFL Draft, and defensive line coach Clint Hurtt is already going on the record with some serious praise for the young prospect. Uar Bernard, the 21-year-old seventh-round pick<\/a> out of the NFL\u2019s International Pathway Program<\/a>, has never played a snap of organized football. But if you listen to what Hurtt is saying about this kid, the Eagles might be looking at a legitimate developmental steal.<\/p>\n

For those who need a refresher, Bernard came to Philadelphia from Africa through the International Pathway Program, and his testing numbers are impressive: 6-4.5, 306 pounds, 6% body fat, a 39-inch vertical, a 10-foot-10 broad jump, and a 4.63 40-yard dash. Those are wild measurements.<\/p>\n

Hurtt\u2019s praise stands out<\/p>\n

But what really caught my attention was the way Hurtt spoke about Bernard. This is a coach known for being hard on his players, a no-nonsense guy who doesn\u2019t hand out compliments freely. And he went out of his way to put his reputation behind this kid.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand he hasn\u2019t played, but this guy has more talent in his body physically than some of the guys that got drafted in the first 2 days of the draft,\u201d Hurtt said.<\/p>\n

He praised Bernard as explosive, heavy-handed, and violent. Hurtt acknowledged the obvious: development is required. But he essentially said he trusts himself to take on the challenge and that he believes in the kid.<\/p>\n

Then Hurtt took it a step further.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not putting my stamp on everybody,\u201d Hurtt said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have a great work ethic, if I don\u2019t believe in your character and who you are as a person, I\u2019m not putting my family\u2019s well-being in anybody\u2019s hands. But when I saw the kid\u2019s work ethic and character, it\u2019s great. He\u2019s an unbelievable human being. I felt good about doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is a massive statement from a position coach who has been phenomenal since arriving in Philadelphia. I think Hurtt could end up being a defensive coordinator one day, and the fact that he\u2019s willing to bank on a player who has never suited up is telling about how special Bernard\u2019s upside might be.<\/p>\n

The Mailata blueprint<\/p>\n

If you need proof that this type of developmental path can work, just look at the other side of the ball. Jordan Mailata came to the Eagles<\/a> through a similar unconventional route, and he developed into one of the best offensive tackles in football. The blueprint is right there.<\/p>\n

Now, am I saying Bernard is going to be Mailata? No. We have to pump the brakes a little bit. This is a player who has to learn the fundamentals of the game from scratch. We may not see anything from him this season. We may not see much next season either. This is a long-term project, and the Eagles know that.<\/p>\n

But if Philadelphia can take this athletic freak of nature and actually teach him how to play the game, they could potentially look back in a couple years and realize they grabbed one of the steals of the entire 2026 NFL Draft in the 7th round. When a coach looks at a player who has never put on cleats and says the things Hurtt is saying, imagine what Bernard could develop into with proper coaching and time.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t just another camp body<\/p>\n

I am genuinely excited to track the development of Uar Bernard. He\u2019s not going to dominate the headlines every day, and that\u2019s fine. But from time to time over the next year or two, we\u2019re going to hear that name pop up. How does he look? What kind of progress is he making? And I don\u2019t think he\u2019s just another camp body who floats onto the practice squad and disappears.<\/p>\n

Clint Hunt is a coach who demands excellence and doesn\u2019t put his stamp on a player unless he truly believes in what he sees. The Eagles may have quietly made one of the smartest picks of their entire draft class.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Aug\t\t<\/p>\n

Philadelphia Eagles News<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tCooper DeJean\u2019s safety role, Andrew Mukuba\u2019s rehab, and why Eagles\u2019 secondary depth could be a problem\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will have to be creative to solve some roster issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Uar Bernard has an absurd physical upside, and that\u2019s what Philly will try to lean on while he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":937201,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2068],"tags":[265,25,7,11862,6,242,109,2476,116703],"class_list":["post-937200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia-eagles","tag-american-football","tag-eagles","tag-football","tag-international-pathway-program","tag-nfl","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-eagles","tag-philadelphiaeagles","tag-uar-bernard"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116866626641407579","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=937200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/937201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=937200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=937200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=937200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}