Rueben Bain, Titans draft trend with national and local intel is something that we should have realized sooner

Rueben Bain is a really solid draft prospect at a big position of need for the Titans. But is he a good fit? Daniel Jeremiah shares the lasted that he’s heard.

Easton Freeze — Tennessee Titans Beat Writer
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Nov 1, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; SMU Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. (4) warms up before the game against the SMU Mustangs at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

There’s no doubt the Tennessee Titans need help at EDGE. It was arguably their top need coming into the offseason, and they’ve done some work to address it before the draft. They trade for Jermaine Johnson from the Jets during Combine week, signed Jacob Martin in free agency from the Commanders, and made a big splash signing with John Franklin-Myers from the Broncos too. Myers has inside-out versatility, and all the writing on the wall points to him bumping outside as the “big end” on one or two downs of each set he’s on the field for.

So they’ve gone from a screaming need to a more straightforward one: This team has one remaining hole to fill at speed end, who hopefully can act as their EDGE1 in terms of pass rush production. Everybody knows the three names at the top of the 2026 NFL Draft class who are the most coveted edge rushers available. But one feels increasingly like a poor fit as we near draft weekend. Local intel has been pointing that way for a bit, and now Daniel Jeremiah is too.

Daniel Jeremiah adds new intel to Rueben Bain and the Titans at 4

On the latest episode of Peter Schrager’s “The Schrager Hour”, Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network had this to say about Bain being a popular connection to the Titans:

“The other thing is, I know people are listening or watching and go, well, what about Rueben Bain? There’s another pass rusher there. The stuff that I’ve got out of Tennessee is, I don’t think they’re a huge Bain team. Now look, we’ll see how accurate that ends up being. But I was told that was that was not their guy. So we’ll see.”

That’s about as pointed as you’ll hear DJ get at this stage of the draft season.

It backs up the vibe locally from reporters like yours truly, who came back from many discussions at the annual NFL Owner’s Meetings last week with little faith in a Bain selection at 4. In my pie chart of odds for who I believe the Titans will draft in the first, I gave Bain an admittedly generous 10% chance. I wrote:

“A 1-in-10 chance is the best I’m willing to offer the Rueben Bain hive after the owners meetings. The only reason I’m not giving him longer odds is because of how many glowing things I heard from Titans people both on and off the record. Titans brass seems to think he won’t have an issue lining up as a wide nine EDGE in the NFL, even despite his length and speed shortcomings. I can’t say I totally agree with that, but fair enough! Maybe they see him differently than most of the draft community does!”

But I don’t actually believe they see him differently. I think this is some classic lip service to the guy they know they don’t really want. Anything to muddy their direction at 4 and pump up players who other teams could value that highly is added value to their own pick and position in this game. That would be good business on their part to operate in such a manner.

The bottom line is that Bain is just a dubious fit for the Titans at this point for a variety of reasons. Chiefly, he is a significant physical outlier for a top-5 EDGE draft pick. His lack of length is concerning on paper, and even though I don’t think it will manifest as a huge problem at the next level because of the specific ways in which he wins, he’s an outlier nonetheless. He isn’t a guy I see Mike Borgonzi falling in love with, and he certainly isn’t a prototype of player who Robert Saleh has historically loved either. Saleh loves length and speed. That’s David Bailey, not Rueben Bain.

I still truly believe Bain will be a very, very good NFL player. Potentially even a great one! I just don’t know which position that will be at. And I do not think it will be for the Tennessee Titans.

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