The Cincinnati Bengals are currently looking for ways to improve their team this offseason, coming off a third straight year of missing out on the playoffs. The Bengals’ biggest problem is their defense, which was once again among the league’s worst units in 2025.
With Trey Hendrickson likely moving on this summer, recently, Field Yates of ESPN broke down a player whom he thinks the Bengals should select at number 10 in this year’s draft: Edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. of Miami.
Yates noted that “(Bain) makes up for his more compact frame with overpowering strength and quick hands. Bain earned ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors this past season, dominating opposing offenses on the way to the CFP Championship game.”
Indeed, Bain was a dominant force for the Hurricanes throughout the 2025 season, helping them defy expectations by making it all the way to the 2025 national championship game, which they lost in a narrow fashion to Indiana.
Yates pointed out that the Bengals selected another pass rusher, Shemar Stewart, last season, but that he had just one sack as a rookie. Cincinnati took a chance on Stewart in large part because of his measurables at the NFL Draft combine, which checked a lot of boxes that teams look for when trying to find an elite pass rusher.
“Bain is the exact opposite archetype, with 20.5 sacks in three seasons but a lack of premiere physical traits,” Noted Yates.
Last offseason, the Bengals were able to come up with a patchwork solution to their Trey Hendrickson dilemma by keeping him around for the 2025 campaign, but it appears that a divorce is on the horizon this year. Even with Hendrickson on the field, the Bengals were still largely a listless defensive unit for most of last season.
In any case, the NFL Draft is slated for late April in Pittsburgh.