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Terrel Bernard NFL Draft Profile
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Terrel Bernard Scouting ReportTerrel is a bit underweight for the modern NFL linebacker. But Terrel brings solid athleticism to help account for that. He is a fairly explosive athlete. He has a quick first step toward his target, and he’s spry out of his stance. Terrel also has the short-area twitch and agility to stick to receivers and minimize cushion, and he hits an excellent second gear when closing on opponents. Terrel’s closing burst is strong, but other athletic departments also provide promise. He has the lateral athleticism to surge in front of gaps and take away running lanes. With this lateral agility, he swims through congestion and finds his way to the football. Moreover, Terrel has light feet and fluid hips in space. He changes directions well and can quickly surge out of his stance and flip his hips downfield. Terrel is an energetic, urgent mover who sinks his base easily on transitions, and he maximizes his movement ability with efficient footwork. Although his top-end speed isn’t elite, Terrel can turn his hips to the sideline and close off outside runs with his range. This burst and hip fluidity also enable him to match tight ends in man coverage. Furthermore, he has the athleticism and coverage ability to line up in the slot as an overhang defender. Terrel is a smart player and an effective communicator pre-snap. He can change alignments and get others in position. Terrel also recognizes misdirections off of motions and keys in on actual intent. He effectively communicates to teammates directions of runs and counters and processes quickly as plays develop. Terrel’s eyes follow the ball. He knows how to maintain his angle, then trigger and engage. He actively seeks to maintain gap discipline in run defense. With this discipline, he can take up space and get runners to freeze as they approach holes. He also knows how to use micro-movements in the trenches to keep himself clean and open up a path to the RB. He’s a patient player but also decisive. Terrel’s ability to manage spacing also shows up in pass defense. He follows the quarterback’s eyes and drapes tight ends across the middle of the field. He can also meet RBs seeping out of the backfield and blanket them. He has smooth movement ability and solid feel in coverage. That allows him to keep good positioning in space. Terrel identifies running backs sneaking out to the flat and closes in quickly. He’s also more than willing to dish out physicality when engaging blocks. Terrel’s shown he can play larger than his frame at times. He’s versatile and has experience at all three linebacker spots, even rotating out to the slot. |
Areas for ImprovementBernard is a bit undersized. Even with his moderately physical style, it impacts his play at times. He can struggle to get off blocks at the second level, and he’s not adept at breaking anchors or filling gaps consistently. With his lighter frame, he can be easily delayed in his pursuit of runners. Moreover, the Baylor LB can be easily sealed off when he bites on misdirection. Bernard can overset on play-action at times, leaving space behind him, and he doesn’t always get proper depth. He doesn’t have great length, and this can limit his disruption radius as a playmaker in coverage. Like most linebackers, Bernard falls for eye candy at times. In recovery, he can be late to turn his hips, and his top-end speed, while solid, isn’t elite sideline to sideline. Bernard can be a more anticipatory player in space. His pursuit angles are too tight sometimes, and he isn’t always able to pinch runners against the sideline. Moreover, the Baylor LB can get flat-footed on transitions and lose his balance on occasion. It doesn’t help that he can be outmuscled at the stem by tight ends. He’s not weak, but his play strength can limit him in certain matchups. Bernard’s light frame doesn’t always carry optimal force and mass into contact. Furthermore, the Baylor LB can be more consistent using pass-rush moves on the blitz. He has the capacity to use quick swims but can better apply targeted physicality. Particularly late in 2021, Bernard showed flashes here. |
Terrel Bernard Career at SchoolBernard earned early playing time on Matt Rhule’s defense but suffered a season-ending foot injury just two weeks into the season. It would’ve been easy for Bernard to become disheartened so early in his career. Instead, he used the time off to reflect and grow as a player. And when he came back in 2018, the results started to speak for themselves. Coming back from injury, Bernard played in 11 of 13 games, logging 47 total tackles, 3 tackles for loss, a sack, and an interception. From there, the opportunities just kept coming. In 2019, Bernard amassed 112 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks, an interception, 2 pass deflections, and 3 forced fumbles. Bernard’s strong play earned him early favor in the eyes of new coach Dave Aranda — when Aranda officially joined Baylor in 2020. Another injury forced Bernard off the field after a productive start in 2020, but the Baylor LB had been through this drill before. He rehabbed, reflected, and came back with his best in 2021. In 2021, Bernard developed into a star. He played in 13 games, accumulating 103 tackles, 12.5 TFL, 7.5 sacks, and 4 pass deflections. Even more impressive than his raw production was his consistency from week to week. Bernard consistently produced, and he left with arguably his best career game in the Sugar Bowl — earning 17 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and a deflection. Bernard not only earned first-team All-Big 12 honors in his final year, but he also received first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors multiple times in his career, graduating with three undergraduate degrees, as well as a master’s in Sports Management. |
Terrel Bernard NFL Draft Player ProfileBernard’s projection to the NFL is an interesting topic. Many of his skills translate well, but his size may be slightly limiting. At 220 pounds, Bernard’s at least 10 pounds lighter than your average starter at his height. In spite of that number, he’s proven he can be physical. But against stronger NFL players, it could demand an adjustment. Nevertheless, as a pure player, there’s a lot to like with Bernard. Though not quite an elite athlete, he surpasses the starter threshold with the requisite explosiveness, twitch, and fluidity to work in space. In man coverage, he uses his fluidity to blanket players up the middle. In zone, he has the spatial awareness, processing ability, and short-range burst to frustrate quarterbacks. Bernard’s play strength and size may impact his run defense transition at the next level. But even there, his spatial management skills translate in the box, and he’s shown he can use targeted physicality to dismantle blocks, as well as make tackles with strong form. If he can get up to 230 pounds without losing athleticism, he’ll be in good shape. Bernard is a solid coverage LB with starting potential as a 4-3 WILL/MIKE or an ILB in 3-4 alignments. He can also shade out to overhang slot against move tight ends and some receivers. He’ll need to build on his frame, but if he can do that, Bernard has the athleticism, quick processing, and positional prowess to be a steady second-level defender with some disruptive ability and versatility in both phases. |
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