The Kansas City Chiefs have been doing pre-draft visits with pass rushers, with Rueben Bain Jr. being the latest.
Like most NFL teams right now, theKansas City Chiefs are in the middle of their pre-draft visits, and it’s become very obvious that their pass rush could be a major focus during the upcoming draft.
With that in mind, the Chiefs did their latest pre-draft visit with defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. of the Miami Hurricanes, according to a report from Adam La Rose of ProFootballRumors.com via Ian Rappaport of NFL Network. The Chiefs have also visited with edge rusher David Bailey of Texas A&M, who is suddenly projected to be the second pick in the draft on April 23.
Bain’s visit comes with a bit of controversy. He’s become this year’s version of a T-Rex lineman, taking some heat for his short arm length after his measurements were confirmed. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is one of many coordinators and evaluators who usually prefers long-arm prospects, so his name came out in some of the back-and-forth about Bain.
Bain’s bona fides are genuine, however. He had a total of 20.5 sacks and 33.5 tackles for loss, according to La Rose, and he earned All-America honors last season.
Another area of controversy for Bain is his age. He’s 25, but that’s not unusual these days, as NIL money has ushered in the advent of “college” prospects who are in their mid-twenties. It’s altering the evaluation process for many teams around the league, as they have to decide whether they want players who will be on their rookie contract when they’re pushing 30.
The one thing that’s undeniable in all this is that the Chiefs need help with their pass rush, which couldn’t get home during the second half of the season especially. Spagnuolo relies heavily on blitzes, but that strategy backfired to some extent last year when the Chiefs’ physical corners and safeties often got exposed in coverage.
Kansas City has two first-round picks in this draft and three major areas of need, with the latter being pass rush, offensive line help and a possible add at wide receiver. Those are the puzzle pieces the Chiefs are currently trying to fit together, and a trade could also be on the board if there’s a fit for a particular player or a way to add even more draft capital.
Bain has been outspoken about his arm length not being an issue, so it will be interesting if there’s any post-visit commentary from either party.