Field Yates Reveals 'Bold' Rueben Bain Jr. Prediction amid 2026 NFL Draft Rumors

Analysts have frequently projected Miami edge-rusher Rueben Bain Jr. to land in the top 10 of the NFL draft.

However, ESPN's Field Yates believes that Bain could fall outside the top 12, per comments made in an article highlighting bold projections from draft experts.

"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."

As Yates noted, some teams picking in the back half of the top 10 could take Bain. One of them (the Kansas City Chiefs) had Bain in for a visit Thursday, and another (the Cincinnati Bengals) had him in town on Friday, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

The latest B/R NFL Scouting Department big board has Bain fifth overall, and its mock draft has Bain headed to the New Orleans Saints at No. 8. The latest consensus mock from the NFL Mock Draft Database places him at eighth to New Orleans as well.

The draft offers no shortage of surprises over the years, with the biggest one in recent memory being quarterback Shedeur Sanders falling all the way to the fifth round to the Cleveland Browns.

It's certainly possible Bain can fall out of the top 12 as Yates predicts. It's possible he can safely land in the top 10 (or higher) as well. We'll find out soon enough when the draft begins on Thursday, April 23 from Pittsburgh.