Even though the 2026 NFL Draft is a ways away, it’s never too late to speculate landing spots for future prospects.

One Alabama wide receiver in particular is starting to skyrocket across draft boards, and some are even considering him to be the top receiver in the draft.

Number 5 on your programs, potentially number one in the wide receiver rankings, Germie Bernard.

ESPN’s Matt Miller seems to think that Bernard is starting to catch up to Arizona State wide receiver, Jordyn Tyson.

“The WR1 race is very wide open, and Alabama's Germie Bernard is emerging in the mix. He has been the best thing about Alabama football so far this season. Scouts had him with a fringe Round 1-2 grade over the summer. But to me, he's right in the WR1 convo with Tyson and has a game very similar to Emeka Egbuka as a college receiver. At 6-foot-1 and 204 pounds, he is already a high-end route runner with good physicality and strength. Bernard had two scores in Saturday's blowout win over Wisconsin -- one on the ground and another through the air.”

Last season, Bernard continuously found himself open. In an offense that focused primarily on quarterback runs with Jalen Milroe, Bernard became Mr. Reliable if anything went wrong. 

He only found the endzone twice, but was critical in helping the Crimson Tide drive down the field.

As the 2025 Draft was gearing up, many wondered what Bernard was going to do about his future. As Miller stated above, he had a first-to-second round grade, but as he continues to perform, it’s looking like getting drafted in the first round is more of a sure-thing than speculation.

In three games so far, Bernard has already exceeded his previous season’s touchdown total, and that’s not including a rushing touchdown he scored against Wisconsin.

To go with those four total touchdowns, he’s averaging 91 yards per game, which includes putting up 146 yards in the dreadful Week 1 loss to Florida State.

As Bernard became more accustomed to the Alabama Standard, he proceeded to take on a leadership role around the team, understanding what it means to wear the crimson and white.

"Your process has to get better,” he told The Next Round podcast. “[Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb] told us a whole story yesterday about this one guy he used to wrestle. It just really stuck out to me. It’s like, you right. After you get a couple wins, you do start to get a little comfortable. But during this time, we have to get uncomfortable. We have to push ourselves even harder through this process."

As Alabama gears up for conference play, and coming off two big wins, it’s up to Bernard to keep the program even keel and to focus on the task at hand. 

With Alabama losing the first game of the season, every other game it plays from here on becomes that much more important.