​PHILADELPHIA − If everything goes according to the Eagles’ plan, Uar Bernard will not step foot on the field during a game this coming season.If that plan works, then Bernard, a defensive tackle, would still make the 53-man roster, thus occupying a valuable roster spot. Make no mistake: Bernard is nowhere near ready to play, and he could be taking the roster spot of somebody who can actually contribute this season.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut Bernard is not your typical football player. That’s not just because he had never played organized football before the Eagles drafted him in the seventh round through the International Players Pathway program.Buy Philadelphia Eagles ticketsThat makes Bernard No. 8 in our countdown of the eight most intriguing Eagles heading into the 2026 season, beginning with the first practice of training camp on July 29. It’s not necessarily the Eagles’ best players as much as a compilation of players who could help determine if the Eagles get back to the Super Bowl in 2026, or self-destruct like they did last season.So how does Bernard fit into that scenario? For that, let’s go back to when the Eagles drafted left tackle Jordan Mailata in the seventh round in the 2018 draft, also via the IPP program.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMailata grew up as a rugby player in Australia. He, too, had never played organized football before the Eagles drafted him. But Mailata had advantages that Bernard never did.For Bernard, going to the IPP was more about survival and providing for his family in Nigeria. The northern part of the African nation, where Bernard is from, is in the midst of violence and humanitarian emergencies.1 / 17Week 1: Washington Commanders, 4:25 p.m., Sept. 13, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. (Amber Searls-Imagn Images)”I think every case is different. I think we should not draw comparisons to my story and Uar’s story,” Mailata said. “I think two different positions, two different people.”It took more than two full seasons before Mailata got into an NFL game in 2020. The following summer, Mailata, who was 6-foot-8, 380 pounds, had to win a competition against a former first-round pick in Andre Dillard in order to become a full-time starter.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBernard is 6-foot-4, 306 pounds, with 6% body fat. At the IPP Pro Day last spring, Bernard ran the 40-yard dash in 4.63 seconds, faster than some wide receivers and running backs at the NFL scouting combine. Bernard was measured with a 39-inch vertical jump and at 10 feet, 10 inches in the broad jump.All of those results were the best in the IPP Pro Day history by a player weighing more than 300 pounds.”Uar is a freak. He’s also not of this planet,” Mailata said. “He’s just freakishly strong, freakishly fast. I can’t even compare him to me just because he’s not of this world, just by metrics and numbers-wise. You see his effort on the film. Once he puts it all together, I think it’s a wrap.”