Short arms? This electrifying defender's game evokes Aaron Donald comparisons. Can the Cowboys snag him and unleash a disruptive force?
One thing we know about the Dallas Cowboys when drafting players is that they love player traits.
If a player has long arms, plays with good vision, and anything else you can think of, Dallas takes it all into account.
And when a player comes along that they don't think has good traits or don't think they can play in the current scheme, they don't draft that player (T.J. Watt is a prime example).
That leads us to this year's draft class and one player who is a big talking point: Miami Hurricane Rueben Bain Jr.
By NFL standards, Bain's arms are short, which is something that NFL teams, like the Cowboys, don't necessarily like.
But is that enough not to draft Bain? A player who is coming off an All-American season, posting 15.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks? Some think so.
However, former Cowboys scout and now the executive director of the Panini Senior Bowl, Drew Fabianich, has a different thought on the "traits" discussion on Bain.
"When you get down to it, can they play or can't play?" Fabianich said in an exclusive visit with our own Mike Fisher. "It's that damn simple. If the measurables get in the way to where it's terminal, that's when you got to say no.
"But when they prove that they can play around it, and they prove that they can be productive, Rueben Bain is a big-time player. Put it this way, if he's playing 3-technique (defensive tackle instead of end), he's close to Aaron Donald.''
So Fabianich has no concerns whatsoever about Bain's shorter arms, and his college-level production proves he can be a dominant force.
But two questions linger ...
One, can this idea really translate to the NFL? We've seen guard Will Campbell of the New England Patriots have trouble with his perceived "shorter arms," and some might think Bain could suffer as well.
And two, didn't the Cowboys just move away from this sort of interior defensive lineman by trading Osa Odighizuwa to the Niners because he doesn't "fit'' new coordinator Christian Parker's scheme?
Overall, though ...
Fabianich obviously doesn't think Bain's "traits'' will be a negative problem at all, and in fact, the Donald comparison is eye-opening.
If other NFL teams aren't sold on Bain due to his short arms, then the Cowboys could have "The Next Aaron Donald'' fall into their lap at pick No. 12.