Could Miami's Rueben Bain Jr. Fall into Rams Lap In First Round?

The last time that the Los Angeles Rams selected 13th overall in 2014, Pitt defensive lineman Aaron Donald fell into their lap due to his smaller size. When the Rams picked at 19th overall back in 2024, Jared Verse fell to them due to low volume stats and teams prioritizing offense in a skill position-heavy draft. He's now the Rams' most important defensive player.

It’s possible that the Rams could fall into similar luck during the 2026 NFL Draft in a few weeks. One player that could fall down draft boards due to size concerns is Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. Bain is a consensus top-10 talent, but his sub-31-inch arms could make teams reconsider. According to a bold prediction from ESPN’s Field Yates, this is a potential scenario.

“We wanted bold, so how about this: Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. will go outside the top 12 picks. Bain is an exceptional player, and there is no shortage of teams with a pass rush need to pick in the first 12 spots. But he is going to be an outlier in the first round, as the first edge rusher with sub-31-inch arms to get picked there. There are some scouts who are skeptical of a team taking an outlier super early. The teams that could take a chance are the Saints, Chiefs and Bengals (Nos. 8-10, respectively), but there's a chance he's still there in the teens.”
Field Yates

While the Rams are set at edge rusher with Byron Young, Jared Verse, and Josaiah Stewart, the front office has set up the roster to truly take the best player available. If Bain were to fall, it would almost be a no-brainer for the Rams to make that pick.

Arguably a top-five talent in the class, Bain is the type of player the Rams would draft and figure out later, especially if he’s available at 13. When the Rams took Donald in 2014, they already had a former first-round pick in Michael Brockers and Kendall Langford coming off his best season at defensive tackle. They made it work.

This will be the final year of Young’s contract and the Rams will have a decision to make. Over the last three years, they’ve been able to benefit from young talent on rookie contracts. It’s the main reason why they were able to rebound so quickly following the reset in 2022. However, those bills are coming due. Young’s market value is $28.1 million per year, according to Spotrac. The Rams also have to consider paying Kobie Turner and Jared Verse at some point. They won’t be able to afford everybody.

Stewart had a strong rookie season, but adding Bain would allow the Rams to continue using him in a rotation and eventually use Bain across from Verse. Defensive coordinator Chris Shula also frequently uses three edge rushers on the field simultaneously. Bain also brings inside-out versatility and can kick inside in sub-packages. Again, the knock against Bain is his arm length and the Rams tend not care about size. They drafted Stewart in the third round last year and he had arms measured in the fifth percentile.

Beyond the potential of drafting Bain, his fall would also add tremendous value to their pick. The Rams would have the option of taking a top-five player in the class and find a way to make it work. Alternatively, they could look for a trade partner in need of a pass rusher and move back. A talent like Bain being available at 13 makes that pick much more valuable. How much more would a team like the Detroit Lions be willing to give up to move up to secure Bain to pair him with Aiden Hutchinson? Would the Philadelphia Eagles move up for a player that has a similar style to Brandon Graham?

While it may seem unlikely, Bain falling to 13 certainly isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility. It’s the draft and anything can happen. The Rams have benefitted in the past from players falling down the draft board. If teams are turned off by Bain’s arm length, it could happen again in two weeks.