Robert Saleh addresses the red flag of Miami’s Rueben Bain as the Titans build their draft plan at the NFL Combine

“I don’t know if his testing has come in yet, but his tape is undeniable.”

Easton Freeze — Tennessee Titans Beat Writer
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The Tennessee Titans are in desperate need of an alpha at edge, and there was no college pass rusher put on a brighter national stage at the end of the 2025 season than Miami EDGE Rueben Bain. He was already seen as a top-10, potential top-5 draft pick throughout the regular season. Then he lit up opposing offenses at every step of the postseason on his way to the National Championship game, attracting more and more eyeballs as he went.

New Titans head coach Robert Saleh has watched enough of Bain at this point to have a strong opinion on him too. Here’s what he had to say about the prospect everybody is watching to potentially become a Titan at the fourth overall pick.

Robert Saleh weighs in on Miami EDGE Rueben Bain at the NFL Combine

In a private local media session, Saleh’s first words on the topic of Bain were glowing. If the Titans haven’t already met with him this week during their speed-dating formal meetings, I’d imagine they will by the end of the day Tuesday. And a quote like this reads to me like somebody who has already had facetime with a player.

“With a young man like Bain, I don’t know if his testing has come in yet” Saleh said, alluding to the length elephant in the room. “But his tape is undeniable. You know, he’s an unbelievable football player. He plays with great violence. His football IQ is off the charts. So you trust that a guy like him and his makeup is going to translate the way it needs to.”

Finding out more about the personal side of these prospects is a big part of what this week in Indianapolis is for, both for the teams as well as for media like me. I’ll be digging on what people have to say about Rueben privately, but an endorsement like this from coach Saleh is a fantastic start.

Bain is an easy eval in terms of figuring out if he will be a good NFL player or not. The answer, if you ask me, is a pretty easy yes. His strength profile and tenacity on the DL will translate well to the league. We can debate his ceiling and whether he will be a mere role player or not, and only time will tell on those specifics. But I feel comfortable saying a healthy Rueben Bain is as certified NFL contributor.

The big question is about where he will actually play. I have heard plenty of people, both publicly and privately, say that Bain will eventually have to kick inside to play defensive tackle at the next level. And that’s because of that length elephant in the room. Bain is going to measure with sub-31″ arms. He will be a unicorn in that regard at the NFL level if he is a true EDGE.

So he will be good, but will be be good aligning as a wide 9? I don’t think so. Will he line up at 5 and 7-tech to rush the passer? I think he can hang here, but there’s still a bit of unknown. And I know plenty of people who think he will eventually land at 3-tech, the position Jeffery Simmons plays. If he transforms his NFL body to be a full-time 3-tech, the Titans obviously have some redundancy there. This makes it easy to see the potential draft day dilemma.

“That’s really every position” Saleh later said of arm length, at his official Combine podium. “Arm length is always going to be key, especially with a team like this that plays more of a zone style. Those long arms close up passing windows and do all the different things that we ask them to do. So it’s really every position where arm length is a big deal.

Bain’s unique profile will be a talking point all week with GM Mike Borgonzi up next, scheduled to speak on Wednesday. It’s time we get some input on the other two top EDGE options in this class from the top personnel man himself.

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