Landing One of These Premier Pass Rushers Could Lead to a Super Bowl Win

Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. and Texas Tech’s David Bailey bring a ‘kill-all mentality’ and psychological edge to sacking the quarterback.

Miami defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. is the best pure pass rusher in the 2026 NFL draft. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

INDIANAPOLIS — Rueben Bain Jr. wants to kill everything. David Bailey can get inside your head if he chooses. 

Two approaches toward the same goal: Find the quarterback and get him to the ground. 

With the 2026 NFL draft only a couple months away, Bain and Bailey are universally seen as the two best pass rushers in the class alongside Ohio State’s Arvell Reese, who some draft experts believe is an inside linebacker at the next level. 

Bain’s ‘kill-all mentality’

Bain, 21, starred for the University of Miami (Fla.) for three seasons. The 270-pounder totaled 20.5 sacks and 33.5 tackles for loss with the Hurricanes, while dominating in the College Football Playoff this past season, amassing five sacks and eight tackles for loss across four games.

Now at the NFL combine, Bain has taken the same attitude from the field to his draft preparation. 

“I came in with the mindset of just a kill-all mentality,” said Bain of his postseason success. “It’s the playoffs. Win or go home. If you take my track record in the playoffs, that’s my best football.”

Bain also noted that he continued with his kill-all mentality in interviews with teams in Indianapolis. It’s an approach that has served Bain well throughout his football journey, as evidenced by winning ACC Defensive Player of the Year and All-American honors in 2025.

Considered a unanimous top-10 pick, Bain will almost certainly start immediately and be expected to contribute. It’s something he’s prepared for, with focus on honing his craft not being an issue.

“I eat, sleep and breathe football,” Bain said. “That’s all I do. I don’t have any other hobbies or other real interests outside of football. That’s all I care about, it’s all I want to do.”

Bailey all about ‘psychology’

Meanwhile, Bailey isn’t relying only on his considerable athleticism. He’s also ready to work the mental angle. 

At Stanford, Bailey graduated in three years with a degree in Science, Technology and Society before transferring to Texas Tech for the 2025 season. If he could go back, though, Bailey would have changed his focus. 

“I took a couple of psychology classes,” said Bailey of his time in Palo Alto. “If I could do it all over again, I would probably major in psychology or neuroscience. I had a lot of fun in my psychology classes, just learning about human behavior, things in general about the human mind.”

With the Red Raiders, Bailey terrorized the Big 12, totaling a conference-leading 19.5 tackles for loss and a nation-high 14.5 sacks. Measuring 6' 4" and 250 pounds, Bailey’s trademarks are his speed and bend, ripping past overmatched offensive tackles on his way to the quarterback. 

While his play against the run is a question mark, Bailey’s pass-rush acumen is evident. Garnering 29 sacks and 10 forced fumbles across four collegiate seasons, he’s projected by many as a top-five pick to help a team in need of edge rush, perhaps the Jets at No. 2 or the Titans two spots later. 

Texas Tech linebacker David Bailey is one of the top two pass rushers in the draft. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Potent pass rush is the key to winning Super Bowl

In a class without any quarterbacks considered as top-tier prospects outside of likely No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza, beefing up the pass rush is a smart strategy.

Throughout NFL history, there have been two successful methods of winning the Super Bowl. One has been employing an all-time quarterback. The other has been to bring the other team’s signal-caller down at a high rate.

“Pass rush is really simple,” said Penn State edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton. “Get-off is the key. I think if you ask any pass rusher that, if you can get off the ball quicker than the offensive lineman and beat him to the spot, nine out of 10 times you’re going to get that sack or get pressure.”

Since sacks became an official stat in 1982, there have been 44 Super Bowls. Of the teams that won the Lombardi Trophy, 28 were quarterbacked by men either in the Pro Football Hall of Fame or clearly headed there, such as Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. Of the 14 other teams in non-strike shortened years, only five failed to have at least a double-digit sack artist, and of those squads, each finished in the NFL’s top half for sack totals.

In short, since 1982, no team has ever won the Super Bowl without an above-average pass rush or a star quarterback, and only five of the 44 champions have hoisted the Lombardi Trophy without a top-tier quarterback or pass rusher.

While the 2025 Seahawks were one of those five aforementioned teams, they had Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II and Uchenna Nwosu all finish with seven sacks, while as a team ranking ninth in sacks (47) and fourth in pressure rate (38.9%) despite blitzing only 22% of the time to rank 25th in blitz percentage. 

In Super Bowl LX, Seattle destroyed the Patriots with their pass rush, recording six sacks and eight tackles for loss, along with 11 quarterback hits. Drake Maye posted a -23.5 EPA, the worst figure of his sophomore campaign. He was also pressured on 52.5% of dropbacks, the second-highest rate he faced last season.

For teams that aren’t drafting high enough to have a chance to land Bain or Bailey realistically, there’s heartening news. The position is arguably the deepest in this class, with 10 edge rushers among Sports Illustrated’s top 50 prospects available. 

While every general manager and coach would love to have Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen on their team, only two are lucky enough to enjoy that luxury. 

For most of the league, winning a Super Bowl means putting talents like those under constant pressure and leveling the odds in doing so.

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