Francis Bernard Overview
Position: Linebacker
Height: 6’-0”
Weight: 234 pounds
School: Utah
NFL Combine Performance Data
40 Yard Dash: 4.81 seconds (unofficial)
Bench Press: 19 reps
Vertical Jump: 32.5”
Broad Jump: 120.0”
Francis Bernard 2020 NFL Draft Profile
After spending the past two seasons at Utah, linebacker Francis Bernard is looking to take his talents to the professional level in the 2020 NFL Draft. After playing in a support role in 2018, the 6’-0”, 234-pound linebacker earned a starting job for his final season of eligibility. Seeing the field for 777 snaps, Bernard recorded 67 tackles, 15 assists, and 17 missed tackles.
Bernard originally joined the collegiate ranks as a three-star recruit back in 2013. While most schools sought him out as a linebacker, BYU offered him a scholarship as a running back. Bernard took the offer and spent the first season of his career on the offensive side of the ball. He eventually transferred to defense the following season. Despite a solid season of play, Bernard was not long for BYU. He missed the 2016 Bowl Game after violating team rules and was kicked off the team for violating BYU’s honor code. A video later surfaced of him threatening to strangle somebody in front of cops. Bernard wasn’t done there, as he added a DUI in October 2017, just for good measure.
Strengths
- Fantastic instincts allow him to cover more space than you’d expect;
- Great ball skills and sense for where the pass is going;
- Diagnoses plays early and can beat blockers to the ball;
- Played well at two different schools, implying that scheme didn’t bolster his production;
- Coverage responsibilities at Utah similar to NFL schemes;
- Quick acceleration to hit top speed.
Weaknesses
- Character concerns, including but not limited to an incident where he reportedly threatened to strangle someone in front of cops;
- Below-average athleticism across the board – will be hard to survive in NFL;
- Misses a high percentage of tackles;
- Already 25 years old with minimal room for improvement;
- Not very agile and typically get faked out by jukes;
- Tends to overpursue the ball carrier.
NFL Comparison: Hardy Nickerson
Teams With Need at Position: Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins
Projection: 7th Round/ Priority UDFA
Bottom Line on Francis Bernard
Francis Bernard was a solid college player that doesn’t project well at the NFL level. The Utah product simply isn’t an NFL athlete and is going to struggle to keep up with the advanced competition. Athleticism isn’t everything at the pro level, but it definitely matters. Lesser athletes can still succeed in the NFL, but they need to be perfect at just about everything. Unfortunately, Bernard’s tackling woes, struggles in the open field, and advanced age are hard to overlook when combined with his underwhelming athleticism. When adding all this to his character issues, and it’s hard to imagine anyone using anything more than a seventh-round pick for his services.
Bernard probably won’t ever develop into a starter, but he has a few interesting traits that could appeal to NFL teams. The Utah product excels in short-field coverage, and his anticipation is off the charts. He’s able to diagnose plays at an advanced level and can break on the ball earlier than most linebackers in this class. Ultimately, Bernard’s road to the NFL probably includes special teams, but he could see some time on defense as a situational coverage linebacker.
Main photo:
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