The Philadelphia Eagles roster the most successful player to emerge from the International Player Pathway program: left tackle Jordan Mailata.
Following the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft, their newest IPP participant, defensive lineman Uar Bernard, will have an opportunity to practice against Mailata as he looks to forge a similar path.
"It's a dream come true for me because I've worked hard for this," Bernard said Saturday after getting drafted by Philly. "I've not played football, but I've gone through some drills that made me believe that I'm going to get better every day. I thank God for everything. I thank God for life. I thank God for the opportunities he's given to me to be drafted by the Eagles."
Bernard, drafted 251st overall, was born in Nigeria and was introduced to American football through a regional camp in Africa. He was eventually selected to the IPP program, which was established in 2017 to identify and develop international talent, and wowed at every stage moving forward.
This was especially true at the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Showcase and IPP Pro Day, where he set multiple HBCU combine records. Bernard, 6-foot-4 and 306 pounds, flashed with a 4.63-second 40-yard dash, 39-inch vertical jump and 10-10 broad jump, all of which were the best in the event's history by a player over 300 pounds.
Along with Miami Dolphins tight end Seydou Traore (No. 180 overall), Bernard was one of two IPP prospects to hear their name called over the weekend. Unlike Traore, though, who played collegiately at Arkansas State and Mississippi State, Bernard has never partaken in a down of organized football.
He'll start from zero in that regard, but given his athletic foundation and drive, teams would be hard-pressed to find better clay to mold.
"We wanted to take the chance on the kid," Roseman said. "Obviously, we've had great success with that program. We spent a lot of time with him. (Defensive line) coach (Clint) Hurtt went down there and spent the day with him, worked him out. You know, just for us, it was a passion project. Obviously, he's got a lot of tools in his body. Understand it's going to take time. It's going to take a lot of time here. But it was pretty cool. We spent a lot of time talking about unusual, you know, and certainly unusual with that guy."
Hurtt, along with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and head coach Nick Sirianni, will be tasked with getting Bernard up to speed on a defensive line that already features an abundance of big-man athleticism, led by Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter.
Bernard's goal is to eventually earn a spot and work in alongside them, but he's already achieved a remarkable milestone as a relative newcomer to the sport.
"It [means] a whole lot to me because I'm the first from my tribe to be at this level of NFL," Bernard said regarding his pride in representing Nigeria. "So, more like an ambassador to the youth back home. And bearing the flag of Nigeria is a big task for me to work hard and give an example for the youth, for the young guys coming up from Nigeria."
