The suspicion, the whispers that have been circulating the scouting world for the past few months is that Rueben Bain Jr. has what the NFL calls “alligator arms,” or that he’s a “T-Rex” edge rusher, insinuating he has short arms.
There’s all kinds of data about what passer rushers with sub–31-inch arm lengths have accomplished, and haven’t in the NFL for the past two decades. Some draftniks are using those analytics, these metrics, to overanalyze during the dog and pony show the NFL Combine has become to speculate about what the University of Miami pass rusher is capable of doing in the pros.
“People keep bringing that up out of nowhere, but no team brought it up to me, so I don’t bring it up either,” Bain said Wednesday at the NFL Combine, an annual event where draft prospects are put through medical checks, on-field work, and interviewed by NFL teams. “As long as I just talk the talk and walk the walk, play with technique, nobody actually cares about it.”
Actually, they do, they just don’t discuss it with the prospects.
The chatter is that Bain’s arm length, and how he performs in private workouts and at the Hurricanes pro day, which teams have to wait for since he doesn’t plan to participate in on-field work at the NFL Combine, will dictate how early he’ll be taken in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Is the three-year starter, who produced 20.5 sacks in his collegiate career, a top-five pick in the 2026 draft class? Will he be the first pass rusher taken?
A top-10 pick? A lock for the first round? Or a top-tier prospect who slides out the first round, which happens annually?
Only time and the medical reports will dictate that.
And that’s the ridiculousness of the NFL draft process.
Teams obsess about everything from 40 time and vertical jump, to arm length, hand size, body fat composition, and maybe what time a player takes his morning poop.
The last one is an exaggeration, but not by much considering NFL teams have been attempting to track their player’s sleep for more than a decade now.
All of this for the hope of maximizing performance, and making fewer mistakes in the name of talent evaluation and procurement.
If we’re going to be honest about where the Miami Dolphins have been in that regard for the decade Chris Grier served as the team’s general manager, seven years of which he was supposed to be the football team’s top decision-maker, South Florida’s NFL team sucked.
There have been far too many Charles Harrises, Noah Igbinohenes, Liam Eichenbergs, and maybe even Jonah Savaiinaeas, and not enough Patrick Pauls, De’Von Achanes, Robert Hunts and Andrew Van Ginkels.
A perfect illustration of how Miami has drafted during the Grier era is the selection of Chop Robinson in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.
Robinson, who is 6-3, 254 pounds, and has 32.5-inch arms by the way, was a Combine freak of nature back in his draft class. In Indianapolis, Robinson showcased rare athletic traits, becoming a combine freak of that draft class.
But Robinson’s film and college productivity at Maryland and Penn State, where he split his time, was underwhelming (60 tackles and 11.5 sacks in three seasons). In his junior season, his final college season with the Nittany Lions he produced 15 tackles and four sacks.
That’s it!
Robinson struggled setting the edge, lacked toughness (no bench press taken at the Combine or pro day), and his production was lackluster as a college performer.
Fast forward to his first two seasons in the NFL, where he’s contributed 47 tackles, 10 sacks and forced one fumble, and those exact same criticisms of his game carried over to the pros.
Surprise, surprise!
Maybe if Robinson had 31-inch arms the Dolphins wouldn’t have romanticized him so much, and avoided selecting him with the 21st overall pick.
Yet, here we are scrutinizing Bain’s arm length and ignoring his dominance as a Hurricanes defender.
Bain is one of the few blue chip talents in the 2026 NFL Draft, which is fairly watered down from a talent standpoint.
While I’m not saying he’s a can’t miss prospect. Every prospect can miss in the wrong scheme, especially after suffering the wrong injury. What I’m saying is he’s the closest thing to a safe draft pick there is for a defender this year.
That’s why I’m selfishly hopeful that he does slides down the draft board, getting in the range where the Dolphins can select him with the 11th overall pick, or trade up for him with minimal cost.
That’s why I encourage this ridiculous alligator conversation, even though I know it’s a foolish discussion, one meant to put a microscope on any wart they can find about these prospects.
But let’s put these things in proper perspective.
Is Bain a force as a pass rusher? His college playoff run this season screams yes.
Is he stout as an edge setter? His film screams yes.
Can he become a productive multiyear starter in the NFL, one who is durable, a competitor, a leader? He did help transform the Hurricanes program, getting UM back to relevancy.
And most importantly, is he violent, which is the No. 1 trait I look for in NFL defenders?
The overwhelming answer to those questions is yes, so let’s not overthink arm length.
“I’m versatile and I have a high motor. I can play any position at any time, and it’s on film,” Bain said. “It’s not just something I’m saying.”
Bain’s the best Hurricanes defensive lineman to enter the draft since Jaelan Phillips and Gregory Rousseau came out in 2021 and were each selected in the back end of the first round.
With a little luck Bain might be able to have as productive a career as Calaias Campbell, who has been an NFL starter for 18 years, and is putting the finishing touches on his Hall of Fame career.
“I eat, sleep and breathe football,” Bain said. “That’s all I do.”
And Bain’s productivity, his collegiate dominance, not his arm length, proves that.