Chris Hoke Believes Germie Bernard ‘May Be Right Now A Better Receiver’ Than Roman Wilson

Regardless of who is healthy, Chris Hoke believes that Germie Bernard should already be playing more for the Steelers. More, in fact, than Roman Wilson, apparently, the team’s WR No. 3. Wilson is coming off a solid showing in the season opener, marred only by his inability to reel in a deep touchdown pass. But the rookie, Bernard, only logged three snaps on offense.

Entering Sunday’s game against the Patriots, WR Michael Pittman Jr. is questionable to play. If he doesn’t suit up, more will fall on the plate of not just Wilson, but Bernard, too. Pittman was limited in practice last week, so at a minimum, Bernard will have benefited from increased practice snaps. Hoke thinks he needs to be playing now, though, and cites Aaron Rodgers’ reluctance as the reason why he isn’t.

“He is really hard on young guys. I mean, I think he’s unusually hard on young guys”, Hoke said on 93.7 The Fan. “Like Germie Bernard. He looked incredible in the preseason—I think he looked great. I think he may be right now a better receiver than Roman Wilson, but for some reason, he’s not getting a chance, because Aaron Rodgers just thinks that, ‘Hey, he’s a rookie, he’s not ready’”.

“I don’t know if there’s any example of why he’s not ready, but [Rodgers] doesn’t think that he is, so he’s not gonna play”, he added about Bernard, noting that Rodgers has had a full season of working with Roman Wilson now, as well as a bonding trip this offseason.

But while Hoke may not be aware of some of the struggles Germie Bernard has had this offseason, they have not gone unnoticed. No doubt it is at least part of why he didn’t play much in the opener, though his offensive coordinator said that the Steelers just didn’t get to the packages that they had installed for him.

Of course, even Aaron Rodgers himself said that we need to pump the brakes on Bernard and temper our expectations. He may well be the more talented player, and he should be given the role the Steelers drafted him for. But that doesn’t mean he needs to leapfrog the depth chart before he’s ready.

And when healthy, the Steelers don’t currently need Bernard to step up. That’s why they traded for Pittman, while also counting on Wilson’s continued development. Pittman played well in the opener, and Wilson did his part too. Really, DK Metcalf was the biggest issue last Sunday, and they absolutely can’t afford for that to continue.

We’ll see on Sunday whether the Steelers afford Germie Bernard a greater opportunity, which wouldn’t be a surprise. While it’s difficult to play four wide receivers regularly, it’s far from impossible. There was a stretch under Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback during which five-receiver sets were not uncommon. Now, we probably don’t need Ben Skowronek or Kaden Wetjen to get too involved. But if they can get Bernard making plays, I don’t think there will be many complaints.