ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has released a new NFL Mock Draft for the first round that he has based on insider information he’s gained from talking to execs, scouts, and coaches in the NFL.
And he has the Cincinnati Bengals taking edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. of the Miami Hurricanes with the tenth pick in the 2026 Draft.
Here’s what Kiper wrote:
If Bain is still on the board at No. 10, the Bengals should sprint the card in with his name on it. This has been a very rough defense for a few years now, and things
could look a lot worse if Trey Hendrickson leaves in free agency. Last year’s Shemar Stewart pick hasn’t yielded immediate returns, either. But Bain has the ability to wreck opponent game plans. He brings power, speed and bend, and he had 9.5 sacks in 2025. Defensive coordinator Al Golden could move him around on the D-line to find matchup advantages and turn him loose in the pass rush.
Bain’s strengths: The Draft profile on NFL.com says that he has loose hips, violent hands, good speed to power charge, the power of a defensive tackle with the agility of an edge, and the ability to eat blocks, among other things.
Meanwhile, according to Bleacher Report’s profile, Bain has good size with an NFL body, impressive movement skills, decent rip and cross chop moves, and physicality at the point of attack.
Bain’s weaknesses: For NFL.com, the concerns are that he has average speed in pursuit, takes plays off, ducks heads and drops eyes, and doesn’t close on QBs with great burst. And for Bleacher Report, they are that his timing with his hands needs work, he isn’t gap disciplined against the run, and he lacks explosion off the line.
With it looking more and more like Trey Hendrickson has played his last down for Cincinnati, Kiper’s prediction of the Bengals taking Bain makes pretty good sense.
