Rueben Bain Jr. landing spots: How Combine nightmare impacts the NFL Draft board

Rueben Bain Jr. has some very short arms. And honestly, "very" is an understatement when talking about where he ranks among edge prospects, as his 30 7/8-inch arm measurement at the NFL Combine ranks in the bottom five at the position since 1999. Seems bad!

Bain's size, even before this measurement, was a question mark for NFL teams. Would he have the length and frame needed to rush the passer against elite tackles, or was he more of an undersized down lineman? As such, the uncertainty around his position — and now, the issue with his measureables — put his draft stock all over the place, though there's also a chance that teams don't view this as a dealbreaker at all and Bain still goes in the top five.

Rueben Bain Jr.'s arms could impact his draft stock

NFL teams can be weird about measurables, kind of picking and choosing what to care about. A super fast 40 time or an extra impressive vertical? Those can push a guy way up the board. But bad measurements? How those shake things out really just depends on how teams already felt about the player. Remember the controversy around Joe Burrow's small hands? He still went No. 1 overall.

Bain's arm length could be a concern to teams, but it's not like teams didn't already know from watching him play that he didn't have some massive wingspan. It reminds me of when shorter quarterbacks get measured at the Combine and people realize their college heights were wrong — yeah, duh, everyone already knew that.

If Bain had participated in drills and looked bad doing them, then it'd be much easier to make an argument that his stock would take a hit. Those are true measures of things like strength and athleticism. Measuring his arms? Meh, it's just confirming information we already knew, which is that he won in college with his power, explosiveness, technique and intelligence — not his ability to push off with his arms.

I don't think teams are dropping him down their board after Thursday. Rather, I think teams that had already dropped him down the board may feel confirmation in that decision based on his physical attributes. His arm length can definitely impact his draft stock, but I don't know if Thursday's measurements specifically will cause that. I just think that the teams who are concerned about the measurement were likely already concerned before. A surprisingly high arm length measurement may have helped him, but a bad one is just more proof of what teams already knew.

Potential Rueben Bain Jr. landing spots after poor NFL Combine measurements

Pre-Combine, I've seen Bain as high as No. 2 overall on NFL draft boards, and with the New York Jets trading away an edge rusher this week and opening up a position of need there, that could still be true. But if the Jets pass on him, things get a lot more interesting.

New York Jets (No. 2 overall)

I've seen a number of mocks this offseason with Bain going second overall to the Jets, and I really don't think the arm measurement is some for-sure deal breaker — especially considering the trade that the Jets made on Thursday, sending pass rusher Jermaine Johnson to the Titans in exchange for defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat.

That move immediately opens up a need for an edge rusher in New York, which is why Bain should still be an option here. It's possible that by the time the draft comes around, Texas Tech's David Bailey has risen past Bain to become the top edge rusher in this class, but Bain's athleticism and versatility still have him in front ... for now.

Another option here is that the Jets trade down a few spots and still target Bain, but at a lower cost and with the added benefit of getting additional picks. But that requires a team to want a particular player enough to move up. Is there anyone outside of presumed No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza who would be worth trading up to No. 2 for?

Washington Commanders (No. 7 overall)

There's been a lot of chatter about the Washington Commanders taking Bailey at No. 7, giving them a blue-chip edge-rushing prospect to help rebuild a defense that ranked No. 27 in points allowed and dead last in yards allowed last season. But if the Jets, or another team ahead of Washington, opts to take a shot on Bailey, Bain could easily be in play for the Commanders here.

Washington's 42 sacks look good on paper, but there was something that felt fluky about that. The team had the league's seventh-lowest pressure rate, and no other team in the bottom 12 of that stat had more than 40 sacks. Add in that nine defensive tackles or defensive ends from the 2025 roster are free agents this offseason, and you can see why this is a position of need for the Commanders.

Kansas City Chiefs (No. 9 overall)

The expectation for the Kansas City Chiefs with a rare top-10 pick is that the team adds a true weapon for quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love will likely be on the board. So should at least one of the top three receivers in this class: Carnell Tate, Jordyn Tyson and Makai Lemon.

But the Chiefs also have another looming issue: Chris Jones. Jones has been an elite pass rusher for Kansas City for years now, but he carries a huge cap hit. The dead cap is too much to move on from him now, but if the team works out a restructure, it could look to move on a year or two from now, in which case having a Jones replacement — even if Bain and Jones fill different positional holes — would be critical for this defense. I'm not sure I'd do it, as maximizing the talent around Mahomes feels more important at the moment, but if Bain drops this far, it's going to be tempting, especially from a front office that's consistently operated with an "ehh, we'll find bargain guys for Pat to throw to" mentality.

Cincinnati Bengals (No. 10 overall)

The Cincinnati Bengals defense was awful in 2025 and looks set to lose its best player, Trey Hendrickson, this offseason, so this is the perfect time to take a shot on Bain if he manages to still be on the board.

Cincinnati's defensive issues means there should be no playing it safe here. The team desperately needs upside defensive options, not safe ones. Bain's arm length may give some teams pause, but he's still one of, if not the, highest-upside players in this class. Even if the measureables increase the chance he's a bust, the Bengals don't need to scare themselves away from a potential franchise-altering defensive talent. That's a luxury that a defense like this one absolutely can not afford.

Dallas Cowboys (No. 12 overall)

This is the worst-case scenario for Bain, I'd imagine. While he could drop out of the top 10, I imagine the Dallas Cowboys at No. 12 overall would have enough interest — and enough need for edge rushers after the Micah Parsons trade — to pull the trigger despite the measureables issue.

Dallas' offense feels basically set at this point, minus maybe a line upgrade or two. Defense is where the team should allocate most of its draft resources, especially after a season in which they recorded just 35 sacks and missed 112 tackles.

I suppose it's possible that Jerry Jones falls in love with Sonny Styles' NFL Combine performance and takes him here for the upside, but that feels even riskier than just taking Bain, and the ceiling is ultimately about the same.