Could one of the most dominant edge rushers in the 2026 NFL Draft slide in the draft due to a physical flaw?
While the dominance of Rueben Bain Jr. can’t be underestimated, there are some concerns about his arm length, which measured at 30 7/8 inches at the NFL Combine. With over 20.5 sacks in his three-year stint at Miami, opposing quarterbacks and offensive lineman wouldn’t consider that a flaw, but what about at the NFL level against elite, long, athletic offensive tackles?
The ACC Defensive Player of the Year, who helped lead his team to the national championship game is overall undersized for an edge rusher at 6-foot-2, 263 pounds. But it is his relentlessness and ability to overpower blockers that makes him a top 10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Will size and arm length be the difference between Bain being a potential top 3 pick or potentially falling out of the top 10?
Keep any doubts about Rueben Bain Jr at arm’s length
In his weekly column at NFL Mocks, John Blair highlighted Bain’s arm length as a red flag, noting that it could be a limitation for a player who leans more toward power to get home against quarterbacks, rather than speed.
Bain, per NFL Draft Notebook:
“One major concern with Rueben Bain Jr. is his 30⅞-inch arm length, which ranks as the fourth shortest among edge rushers measured since 1999. That is a bigger issue when you consider his game leans more on power than pure speed. Without ideal length, it becomes harder to lock out offensive tackles, control their chest, and consistently convert speed to power on bull rushes. Despite that concern, the Tennessee Titans and appear to have a strong interest in him.”
Despite this red flag, Blair still has Bain as his top DE in the 2026 NFL Draft, which drew some social media debate when it comes to Bain vs. David Bailey in this draft.
Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. is my top DE in the NFL Draft over David Bailey. Bain is the more complete player. He can set the edge against the run and has the strength and quickness to get to the quarterback. I’m concerned Bailey may top out as a situational pass rusher.
— John Blair (@johnblairjunior) March 4, 2026
The best fits for Bain Jr.?
As a volatile edge rusher with a high motor, the arm length shouldn’t do much to dissuade NFL teams from selecting Bain, especially if they are in desperate need of a defensive game wrecker. The two teams Bain mentioned are both intriguing options.
The Titans, who have the No. 4 overall pick would be the natural fit for Bain as they are a team that has a high impact defender in Jefferey Simmons in the middle who bears double teams and manifests pressure up the middle with his own size and power. Bain would benefit off the edge and would be harder to block with Simmons and the interior of the line taking up space and garnering attention.
A team that could benefit from a Bain slide are the Bengals who select at No. 10. In deciding not to franchise tag Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati is a team that would love nothing more than teams selecting ahead of them to allow Bain Jr. to slide down to them. A team in need of defensive fire power would suddenly have a young trio of Shamar Stewart, Myles Murphy and Bain to carry the team into the future.
In summary, all prospects have red flags or flaws that can cause a team to hesitate on selecting that player. But there are qualities that are just not measurable that make prospects top performers at the next level.
One of them is heart and the other is determination. Rueben Bain Jr. tops the list in both of those categories.