Bucs Did Not Expect Rueben Bain Jr. To Fall To 15th Overall
As expected, Miami defensive ends Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor came off the board in the first round of this year’s draft. The Buccaneers, owners of the 15th pick, entered Thursday hoping to land one of them, per James Palmer of Bleacher Report. The Bucs got their wish when they chose Bain, but they never expected him to fall that far.
Tampa Bay, which needed another pass rusher to join YaYa Diaby and Al-Quadin Muhammad, is “over the moon” that it came away with Bain, according to Palmer. The Buccaneers fielded phone calls for their pick, but they could not turn down the opportunity to draft the 6-foot-3, 275-pounder.
Widely considered a top-10 prospect going into the draft, Bain’s drop may have had something to do with concerns over his arm length. His arms measured 30 7/8 inches at the Combine, which ranks in the 1st percentile and checks in well below the 33-inch average. He was also the driver in a 2024 car crash that led to the death of one of his passengers. Bain was cited for careless driving, but it reportedly did not affect his draft stock.
It remains to be seen if arm length will prevent Bain from reaching his potential in the NFL, but the Buccaneers will have gotten a steal if he can overcome it. The power rusher posted terrific production at Miami, where he registered 33.5 tackles for loss and 20.5 sacks over three years.
In 2025, his best season as a Hurricane, Bain led the FBS with 83 pressures (via Dane Brugler of The Athletic). Pro Football Focus credited Bain with the most hurries (54) and also gave him an excellent grade against the run (86.2; 12th among edge defenders). After finishing the season with personal highs in tackles for loss (15.5) and sacks (9.5), Bain earned consensus All-America honors, the Ted Hendrickson Award (given to the nation’s top DE) and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year Award.
As for Mesidor, despite leeriness over his age (25) and injury history, he became a pro seven picks after Bain. The Chargers took Mesidor 22nd overall.
Bolts Grab DE Akheem Mesidor At No. 22
The Chargers lost Odafe Oweh in free agency, and while they re-signed Khalil Mack, the team is adding Miami edge defender Akheem Mesidor in Round 1 tonight.
Mesidor joins an edge room already housing Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu, and Bud Dupree. The Canadian pass rusher goes off the board seven picks after Miami teammate Rueben Bain Jr. Despite his rookie status, at 25 years old, Mesidor is already two years older than Tuipulotu, a second-round pick from 2023. While Mesidor doesn’t bring the long-range potential for a 10-plus-year run with the team that drafted him, he brings NFL-ready pass rush ability and a vast variety of experience.
A six-year collegiate athlete, Mesidor started his studies at West Virginia, notching five sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss as a true freshman. In Year 2 with the Mountaineers, Mesidor was moved inside to defensive tackle but still contributed to the pass rush with a disruptive 4.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss. A transfer to Miami returned him to the edge, and he gave the Hurricanes seven sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss.
After a year lost to injury and a year covering for an injured Bain, Mesidor delivered a career-year on the Hurricanes’ run to the College Football Playoff national championship matchup. Together, Mesidor and Bain terrorized opponents, especially once they got to postseason play. While it was Bain that earned All-American honors, Mesidor led the Canes defense with 12.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss. His four forced fumbles were a team best, as well.
While his age and injury history may have scared some teams off, the Chargers are cashing in on hugely productive pass rusher with size to play all over the line and an arsenal of pass rush moves to find success as a rookie. Even if Mesidor doesn’t crack the starting lineup as a rookie, the team’s top pass rushing trio of Mack, Tuipulotu, and Dupree are all in the final year of their current contracts, so Mesidor may just represent the team’s future on the edge.
Bengals Meet With Sonny Styles, Akheem Mesidor
Miami defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. and Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez were not the only defensive prospects who visited the Bengals on Friday. The team also met with the Styles brothers, Sonny and Lorenzo, as well as Akheem Mesidor, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Lorenzo Styles Jr., a former Notre Dame receiver who transitioned to cornerback at Ohio State, is not a touted prospect. The opposite is true in regards to Sonny Styles, who played with his brother at OSU. Sonny Styles’ stock has soared enough that he could become a rare off-ball linebacker to go near the top of the draft. The Jets are reportedly considering the 6-foot-5, 244-pounder at No. 2 overall. The Cardinals (No. 3) and Giants (No. 5) are also among the teams that hold Styles in high regard.
The Ohio-born Styles may be gone by the time the Bengals are on the clock at No. 10, but he is worth a pre-draft look for a team in desperate need of defensive help. While the Bengals spent second- and fourth-round picks on linebackers Demetrius Knight and Barrett Carter a year ago, neither fared especially well as rookies. An upgrade could come in the form of Styles, who followed up a first-team All-America season with a marvelous Combine performance. Among linebackers, the 21-year-old finished first in the 40-yard dash (4.46), 10-yard split, vertical jump and broad jump. His 43.5-inch vertical leap was the highest for anyone his height in 23 years.
Mesidor, another Miami defensive end, teamed with Bain over the past three seasons. While Bain is expected to come off the board first, there are teams that like Mesidor better. The main knock on Mesidor, who played two seasons at West Virginia and four at Miami, is his age. The 6-3, 280-pounder is already 25 years old.
Mesidor also has a past foot injury that limited him to three games in 2023, but he bounced back well in the two seasons since then. He is heading to the pros after piling up personal bests in tackles for loss (17.5), sacks (12.5) and forced fumbles (four) during a 15-game, second-team All-America campaign.
After picking 10th, the Bengals are scheduled to make their second choice at 41st overall. Neither selection looks like the ideal slot for Mesidor, whom Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com (No. 23) and Dane Brugler of The Athletic (No. 28) rank in the 20s. Nevertheless, it is no surprise the Bengals are interested in bolstering a set of edge defenders that lost star Trey Hendrickson to the Ravens and Joseph Ossai to the Jets in free agency. The Bengals signed ex-Seahawk Boye Mafe to a three-year, $60MM deal last month, but they could still add to a group that also features Myles Murphy and 2025 first-rounder Shemar Stewart.
Bengals Host Rueben Bain, Jacob Rodriguez
Thanks in part to a defense that ranked 30th in the NFL in scoring and 31st in yards, the Bengals sputtered to a 6-11 record in 2025. A healthy season from quarterback Joe Burrow would go a long way toward an improved record in 2026, but the Bengals are still in dire need of defensive help. They figure to focus on that side of the ball in the upcoming draft.
Holding the 10th overall pick and looking to boost a lackluster pass rush, the Bengals hosted Miami defensive end Rueben Bain on Friday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. There are serious concerns over Bain’s short arms, and some regard Miami teammate and potential first-rounder Akheem Mesidor as the better edge prospect. Although Mesidor is already 25, more teams than expected prefer him to the soon-to-be 22-year-old Bain, according to Albert Breer of SI.com.
While there may be leeriness toward Bain in some circles, the 6-foot-2, 263-pounder is widely considered a top-10 prospect. To finish off a terrific three-season run with the Hurricanes, Bain won ACC Defensive Player of the Year and was a consensus All-American in 2025. In addition to an FBS-high 83 pressures, he tallied 15.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks in 16 games.
The Bengals ended last year just 25th in sacks, which explains their interest in Bain. They also lost their best pass rusher, Trey Hendrickson, to the AFC North rival Ravens in free agency. While Hendrickson barely factored in during a seven-game, injury-wrecked 2025, he posted a league-leading 35 sacks over the previous two seasons. Expecting that type of production from Bain or anyone else would be unrealistic, but the Bengals would benefit from adding a new blue-chip talent on the edge.
Cincinnati signed former Seahawk Boye Mafe to a three-year, $60MM contract in free agency, though the team also lost Joseph Ossai to the Jets. That leaves the Bengals with Mafe, Myles Murphy and former first-round pick Shemar Stewart as their top edge rushers. The jury is still out on Stewart, a raw prospect they chose 17th overall last year, after he mustered just 11 tackles and a sack in an eight-game rookie season. Pro Football Focus ranked Stewart’s performance last among 119 qualifiers at his position.
Meanwhile, although there are questions over whether the Bengals will add a linebacker, they hosted decorated Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez on Friday, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. If Rodriguez falls to the Bengals’ second-round pick, they could consider snagging the 6-1, 231-pounder. The Bengals’ second selection slots in at No. 41, which is exactly where Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com ranks Rodriguez among this year’s prospects.
Rodriguez, who began his college career at Virginia, broke out at Texas Tech in 2024. Over 13 games, he racked up 127 tackles, 10.5 TFL, five sacks and three forced fumbles en route to first-team All-Big 12 honors. Last season was another first-team All-Big 12 showing for the 23-year-old Rodriguez, who notched 128 tackles (11 TFL), forced a whopping seven fumbles, intercepted four passes and recorded a sack. He earned unanimous All-America honors, took home major hardware (including the Bronko Nagurski Trophy for the best defender in college football) and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy race.
In moving on from Germaine Pratt and Logan Wilson, the Bengals have turned over their linebacker group in the past year-plus. The team spent a second-rounder on Demetrius Knight and a fourth-rounder on Barrett Carter last spring. They took over as rookie starters, but neither thrived on a bottom-tier defense. Although the Bengals have not made any needle-moving additions at linebacker this offseason, that could change if they draft Rodriguez or another high-end prospect.
Teams Viewing Miami DE Akheem Mesidor As Better Than Teammate Rueben Bain?
After a run to the College Football Playoff Championship game, the Hurricanes are primed to send several standout players to the league. Two names in particular have frequented top-10 projections as draft pundits offer opinions on offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa and defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. A third player has frequently been linked to first-round mock drafts, and according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, some in the league believe he’s better than one of those other two.
That player would be none other than Bain’s fellow pass rusher Akheem Mesidor. Mesidor began his college football journey at West Virginia, where he made a big impact on the edge as a true freshman, recording five sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss. In Year 2 with the Mountaineers, the team opted to shift Mesidor inside to more of role on the interior line. Mesidor still produced, logging 4.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss, but opted to transfer and ended up in Coral Gables.
With Miami, Mesidor returned right back to a role on the edge, and he was impressive in doing so, leading the team with seven sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. In 2023, Bain arrived as a true freshman, and when Mesidor was shut down with injury, missing all but three games, Bain asserted himself as a difference maker with 7.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. The next year, it was Bain’s turn to deal with injury, and though he played in nine games, he looked like a shell of his freshman self, logging only 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss while clearly limited due to injury. Mesidor didn’t fare too much better that year, registering only 5.5 sacks with nine tackles for loss.
Bain came back healthy this past season, and the duo immediately put NFL scouts on notice as they disrupted a top Notre Dame offensive line early and often to open the year, notably sealing the Hurricanes’ Week 1 matchup by meeting at the quarterback twice in the final two plays before a Fighting Irish false start ran the final seconds off the clock. Both pass rushers would go on to enjoy the best production of their careers, shining especially bright on the biggest stage. In four CFP games against Texas A&M, Ohio State, Ole Miss, and Indiana, Mesidor recorded 5.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss while Bain delivered five sacks and eight tackles for loss.
There’s certainly a case to be made for Mesidor, who hasn’t received as much love as Bain in early draft talks despite never being outshined by him on the field. Mesidor’s final 2025 figures (12.5 sacks, 17.5 tackles for loss) did outpace Bain’s (9.5 sacks, 15.5 tackles for loss). So why isn’t he up in the top 10 with Bain? One theory might be drawn from looking at their time not playing together. When Mesidor was hurt, Bain stepped up and stood out as a true freshman. When Bain was hurt, Mesidor reverted back to his old West Virginia production despite being a fifth-year athlete.
Additionally, when they did play together, one could argue quite a bit of Mesidor’s success came as a result of the disruption or extra attention being paid to Bain on the other side. The same concept could certainly be attributed to Bain, too, but Mesidor drew fewer double teams throughout the season. That’s not to say that Mesidor can’t get it done on his own, though. Mesidor is seen as more of a pure pass rusher, with a full arsenal of attack moves and an effective plan of attack. Teams looking for the more talented pass rusher will see Mesidor as the superior talent, whereas Bain gains the edge with overall disruption.
Bain offers greater versatility along the line, though both have played both edge and interior snaps. Less reliant on an arsenal, though he still has one, Bain’s methods are violent, quick, and powerful. His ability to bring the fight to his opponent often overcomes the concerns over his shorter arm length while his incredible bend for his frame help him to evade and finish. Even without the pass rushing prowess, Bain’s 83 pressures in 2025 were the most in a season since 2014.
Both defensive ends do have flaws that draw the ire of some scouts and teams. Bain’s arms are seemingly a big concern, though it increasingly appears to be more of an issue in the media than in the actual NFL. Mesidor, after six years of college (thanks to COVID-19 and an injury redshirt), will be 25 years old when he’s drafted. Regardless, some teams will overlook these flaws and take a chance on the upside both players displayed at the college level of the game, and while some may view Mesidor as the more talented pass rusher, Bain is currently in line to hear his name called a bit earlier on in the evening.