Perhaps the Dallas Cowboys won’t have to trade up in the 2026 NFL Draft (scheduled April 23-25 in Pittsburgh) to land a top pass-rusher.
The stock of Miami Hurricanes defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. (6-foot-2, 263 pounds) may be dipping before the draft because of lingering concerns over his arm length. Bain’s arms measured at 30 7/8 inches at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, below average for an NFL edge-rusher (33 1/2 inches). Former Ohio State Buckeyes DE Nate Williams has had the shortest arm measurements (30 5/8 inches) at the combine since 1999. He went undrafted and never played a regular-season game in the NFL.
NFL executive discusses Rueben Bain Jr.’s arms
“It’s not nothing,” an executive with a top-10 pick in the draft told ESPN NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler for a story published Wednesday.
“It’s in between,” the executive continued. “The kid’s played his entire life that way and been pretty successful. But I think it will pose a challenge. He’s found a way to work around it, leaving the blockers behind and using his squattiness to his advantage. But you use your hands and arms on every play, trying to control the blocker who’s trying to control you, reaching and running 60 times a game. It’s an imperfect science, and you can’t say he can’t play football because he can. But he will have some issues.”
That sentiment may be shared among teams picking in the top 10 of the draft. ESPN’s Matt Miller predicted Tuesday on X that Bain will fall outside that range.
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