{"id":777379,"date":"2026-02-26T11:07:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T11:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/777379\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T11:07:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T11:07:32","slug":"chiefs-met-with-rueben-bain-jr-and-more-defensive-linemen-at-combine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/777379\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs met with Rueben Bain Jr. and more defensive linemen at Combine"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NFL Scouting Combine is underway, and the Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> have kept busy. General manager Brett Veach spoke to reporters yesterday about free agency<\/a>, the draft and how he will build the Chiefs\u2019 2026 roster<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The process starts with researching the 2026 NFL Draft class and meeting with prospects as the football world is gathered in Indianapolis this week. On Wednesday, it was revealed that the Chiefs are doing homework on the defensive line class, including a meeting with one of the top players.<\/p>\n

Miami defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. revealed to the pool of reporters that he has met with the Chiefs. According to Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star<\/a>, Bain felt like \u201che had a real strong interview.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Arrowhead Pride staff\u2019s analysis of all will be coming soon, but Bain is one of the most well-known prospects to Chiefs Kingdom in this draft cycle. Through one month of tracking data from offseason mock drafts, Bain was the second-most often picked player for Kansas City<\/a>, behind running back Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame.<\/p>\n

Bain is one of the biggest focus points among the top players at this year\u2019s Combine. He is ranked sixth by The Athletic\u2019s consensus big board<\/a>, but questions about his measurements \u2014 specifically his arm length \u2014 are being asked by many in the draft community. The results that come out on Thursday will be intriguing in terms of how they will affect his draft stock.<\/p>\n

However, Bain doesn\u2019t sound concerned, nor do the teams he has spoken to, about the narrative that has surrounded him since draft season kicked off. He was also quoted as saying the team that selects him \u201cwill get the best player in the draft.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Bain is a clear match with the Chiefs\u2019 scheme under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. He is a powerful player, whether it\u2019s violently shedding blocks or overwhelming pass blockers. He is certainly the edge-setting, pocket-crushing edge defender that Spagnuolo has valued in a three-down starter at defensive end.<\/p>\n

In these clips, the power in his hands is showcased. He controls blocks off the line and has the strength to suddenly swim or redirect his hands as he maintains pressure towards the pocket. His stature gives him natural leverage on the bull rush, and he will get an offensive tackle rolling back on skates if they don\u2019t bring legitimate momentum to the block engagement.<\/p>\n

With his well-known advantage of power, Bain can set up his outside rushes for success, but he executes with impressively efficient technique to turn the corner quickly. He easily swats away blockers\u2019 hands as he approaches the edge, but he also uses the underwhelming height to seamlessly dip into the back of the pocket, even if the tackle is still engaged with half of him.<\/p>\n

Bain is on the attack throughout a game, but these plays were the final two snaps of Miami\u2019s win over Notre Dame to start the 2025 season. On the first play, he paces outside before using a \u201chump\u201d move that the late, Hall of Fame NFL defensive lineman Reggie White made famous in his heyday.<\/p>\n

He is more of the clean-up crew on the second sack, but it\u2019s clear he has a strong feel for how to work an offensive tackle one-on-one in an obvious passing situation like the two-minute drill or a third and long.<\/p>\n

It could be wishful thinking of the mock drafts to continuously have him available at the ninth-overall pick, but there\u2019s a reason he rarely slips past that for many in draft media. Bain would be a great fit with the Chiefs, so it makes sense the team took the time to meet with him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NFL Scouting Combine is underway, and the Kansas City Chiefs have kept busy. General manager Brett Veach…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":777380,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,923,922,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-777379","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs-draft","10":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs-news","11":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116136617296776253","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}