DE Rueben Bain Jr. Visits Titans
The Titans hosted Miami edge rusher and projected first-round pick Rueben Bain Jr. for a pre-draft visit this week, per NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe.
Bain, 21, is among the more polarizing prospects in this year’s class. He has posted elite production over the last three years (20.5 sacks, 33.5 tackles for loss), with almost half coming in his 2025 All-American campaign. However, his 30.825-inch arms are well below NFL standards for the position, raising concerns about his ability to translate his production to the pros.
However, Bain’s power and pass rushing profile are undeniably appealing. He logged a 23.5% pass rush win rate and a 92.4 pass rushing grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) last year, displaying an array of moves and a relentless desire to get to opposing quarterbacks. That has kept him in the conversation for a top-10, or even top-five, pick in April.
The Titans hold the No. 4 selection and need a young, high-upside edge rusher opposite recent trade acquisition Jermaine Johnson. Bain is best as a ‘hand-in-the-dirt’ 4-3 defensive end than as a standing outside linebacker in a 3-4, which requires more athleticism and versatility. That makes him an excellent fit for Robert Saleh‘s system that rarely asks defensive linemen to drop into coverage and instead encourages them to pin their ears back and attack the backfield. Bain’s physical play style, attack-oriented mentality, and dedication to his game are all major pluses, especially for a new coaching staff looking to establish their own culture in Tennessee.
Dolphins To Host DL Rueben Bain
Rueben Bain was one of the main attractions at Miami’s Pro Day on Monday. His attention will now turn to pre-draft visits, including one in a familiar setting. 
Bain is set to meet with the Dolphins today, as detailed by Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. The rebuilding team approaches next month’s draft with a long list of positional needs for new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley to sort through. It comes as no surprise Bain is among the prospects who will receive a look during the evaluation process.
Over the course of his three seasons with the Hurricanes, Bain was an impactful presence along the edge. He set career highs in sacks (9.5), tackles for loss (15.5) and overall stops (54) this past season. That production helped lead Miami to the national championship game, with the team’s pass rush in particular driving its College Football Playoff success. Bain earned ACC Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-American honors in 2025.
Production is not an issue in his case, but concerns have been raised about his arm length. Bain measured 30 7/8 inches at the Combine, a mark well below average for NFL pass rushers. At least some evaluators may be less worried on that front than others, though, something which helps Bain’s chances of remaining one of the top prospects in the 2026 class. A top-10 selection will be something to watch for, particularly if doubts about his ability to remain productive in the NFL are quelled over the coming weeks.
The Dolphins own pick No. 11, which may be too late for Bain to be within reach depending on how the top of the board shakes out during the opening round of the draft. Miami has plenty of other notable draft capital as things stand, however, including Denver’s top selection (No. 30) thanks to the Jaylen Waddle trade. A move up the order would not be difficult to pull off given Miami’s collection of five Day 2 picks.
Of course, the Dolphins have plenty of other options to consider with their top selections as they seek out needed improvements across the board. Their pass rush depth chart is currently topped by Chop Robinson and includes free agent signings Josh Uche and David Ojabo. A notable addition via the draft would make plenty of sense, and Bain figures to be one of the options receiving consideration from Miami.
NFL Teams Higher On DL Rueben Bain Than Draft Pundits?
Miami defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. stirred up headlines at the NFL Scouting Combine when his arms measured at 30 7/8 inches, the third-lowest recorded arm length for an edge at the combine since 1999. According to Jason La Canfora, though, NFL teams and top personnel evaluators seem to care far less about the measurement than the media does.
A source that La Canfora described as “a top personnel evaluator with a proven track record” claimed that Bain’s arm length doesn’t tell the real story of his body type. Another evaluator asserted his focus on Bain’s wingspan differential or ape index, a measurement that focuses on arm length in proportion to the rest of a player’s body by subtracting their height from the combined length of their arms. Another stated plainly that “his arms are not going to be a problem.”
Multiple evaluators La Canfora communicated with thought Bain stood as good a chance as any of the other top few picks at landing in the No. 2 overall slot. They pointed to Bain’s maturity while at the same time valuing how much younger he is than other top pass rushers who utilized the transfer portal in college. There appears to be a growing sense that the people making Draft Day decisions prize Bain more than those who specialize in mock drafts, as La Canfora puts it.
One of those mock draft, college football experts in the media, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, had Bain far from the No. 2 overall pick in his most recent mock draft two weeks ago. Brugler continues to push the media narrative that Bain “remains a polarizing prospect among NFL teams,” claiming “he’s got a lot of fans and plenty of critics.” Brugler has the Hurricanes pass rusher going ninth overall to the Chiefs, with whom he would have a golden opportunity to learn alongside stellar defensive lineman Chris Jones.
With just over a month to go until the 2026 NFL Draft, utilizing only the two sources above, the NFL-media disconnect on Bain spans seven draft picks — from No. 2 to No. 9. Regardless of the potential for varying opinions, it seems even his biggest detractors don’t have Bain falling very far past the top 10, if that far at all. Somebody will be taking a chance on the Miami product on Day 1 of the draft. It only remains to be seen how far into the first round that will happen.
Miami DL Rueben Bain Won’t Participate In Combine Testing
Coming off a 2025 College Football Playoff championship run that fell just short, Miami defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. has been one of the more controversial prospects in pre-draft discussions before today. Questions of tape vs. production vs. measurements have had draft pundits putting him anywhere from top three to late-first round on their draft boards. Bain seems to believe he’s done enough to prove his abilities, though, as he will not be participating in any on-field testing at the NFL Scouting Combine, per ESPN’s Turron Davenport.
Bain’s career in Coral Gables was a bit of a roller coaster. Many of the same questions plagued the Miami Central HS (FL) product coming out of high school, as his 6-foot-2, 250-pound frame detracted from his dominance on film. Still, as a consensus top-100 recruit, he made an immediate impact on the Hurricanes defense, registering 7.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. His sophomore year was plagued with injuries as Bain missed four games. The missed time and a slimmer frame seemed to contribute to his inability that season to find a rhythm and match the dominance he’d shown in Year 1.
This past season was a different story. Finally healthy and having added back some weight (up to 270 pounds), Bain looked much more like the menace from two years prior. Although his return to dominance made him the point of attention for every offense he went up against, Bain continued to make impact plays, either by disrupting with sacks and TFLs or by freeing things up for his teammates to create negative plays. Even so, Bain only accounted for 4.5 sacks and 7.5 TFLs through the regular season.
When the lights got brightest, though, Bain showed what he could do against the NCAA’s best competition. In a windy first-round playoff game in College Station, Bain’s three sacks and four tackles for loss shined on a day of little offense. In two games against the two Big 10 teams that entered the CFP ranked 1 and 2, Bain added another two sacks and four tackles for loss.
When the season came to an end, it was clear Bain’s impressive abilities had solidified him as a first-round talent, but draft pundits seemed to have concerns about his occasional disappearances from the stat sheet and his arm length. While his lack of consistent production is helped by the opportunities that his impact provides for his teammates, there have historically been concerns playing pass rushers with shorter arms on the outside in the NFL.
From the look of things early, though, Bain’s choice not to test could be well warranted. As defensive linemen, linebackers, and kickers reported today for team interviews and media availability, multiple reports suggested that no booth was more crowded than Bain’s. Regarding the questions of tape, production, and measurements, the collective media was dying to hear about that latter, main concern most draft pundits had pegged on Bain in the pre-draft process.
Bain relayed to the media that he had met with the Chiefs, Titans, Bengals, Cardinals, Commanders, Cowboys, Dolphins, Jets, and Saints. Throughout all of those conversations, he maintained that not a single team brought up any concerns about his arm length, per Davenport. He told reporters it was just “stuff you see on social media” and claimed that if the teams weren’t concerned about it then neither was he. Bain told the media he felt great about his interviews which had focused on his tape and impact, not his measurables.
According to Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network, Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi echoed those sentiments, saying they were impressed with Bain’s power and mind in their meeting with him and that “short arms aren’t (an) issue.” NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein also laid out a case for how the typical short-arm concerns don’t apply to a player like Bain, who often disrupts a blocker’s punch timing with his explosive get off and strong hands.
The reporting that he will not participate in on-field testing certainly is backed up by team’s focus on his tape, but it’s unclear if his refusal to test includes taking place in the combine’s official measurements. If there are any genuine team concerns on his arm length, and he doesn’t measure, it could certainly hurt his draft stock with those teams. But after hearing that his impact on the field was the focus with multiple teams, Bain may feel confident enough measure without any worry of poor measurements hurting his stock.