Giovani Bernard, RB Cincinnati Bengals Fantasy Football Rookie Spotlight
Alex Dunlap, Rosterwatch.com

Photo via Giovani Bernard Twitter

Height: “5’8″”

Weight: 202 pounds

40-time: 4.58 40-time (Combine)

Competition for touches:
RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis
RB Bernard Scott
RB Rex Burkhead

Bill Byrne’s Scouting Report
Bernard has been tremendously productive as both a runner and a returner. He has played through pain and soreness from a repaired torn ACL.
 He shows phenomenal instincts with terrific anticipation. Bernard has impressive vision and he almost always finds the correct lane. His acceleration and speed jumped off the video.

He is explosive both laterally and vertically. Bernard has smooth hands, is a natural receiver out of the backfield, but sometimes will react to footsteps on pass routes over the middle. In pass protection, he gives a strong effort and he does not shy away from contact and his blitz pickup skills are advanced. He definitely looks ready to see the field early in his NFL career in the passing game. 
But Bernard is almost purely a finesse back. His game is similar to Ryan Mathews. He prefers to run out of bounds rather than take the hit, even when he could have broken the play back up field. He does not like to get physical.

At the end of runs, Bernard shows a tendency to let his legs go dead, allow himself to be tackled, and figuratively speaking, hold up the “surrender” flag. 
While Bernard has a ton of talent, he may have difficulty becoming a three-down back unless he develops toughness, both physically and mentally. In addition, he is undersized and already has an injury history including a torn ACL. Durability may be a problem. 



Fantasy Outlook
Bernard is a hard runner at 202 pounds, but plays with a quick shiftiness that is generally reserved for scat backs. He’ll come in as an immediate contributor, but needs to refine his skills as a pass blocker to be completely effective as a three-down player. With no real talent at the RB position in Cincy, Bernard is sure to get his share of touches in 2013, but he is obviously more valuable in a dynasty format than in a redraft format. “