The Kansas City Chiefs are moving on to the 2026 season. While others are getting set to start off their postseason runs, many decisions are being discussed internally for the future of the Chiefs. One major way that Kansas City can improve the roster going into next year is through the NFL Draft.
The official selections will not occur for another three-and-a-half months. But in the meantime, many fans who saw their team miss the playoffs are enthralled by mock drafts coming out immediately after the regular season. Chiefs fans are not used to looking at mock drafts this closely so early in the offseason. However, Kansas City is in a prime spot, currently sitting with the ninth overall pick.
One of the latest platforms to release a new mock draft was ESPN. ESPN NFL Draft and college football analyst Jordan Reid dropped his latest set of first-round predictions. You can read the full mock draft from Reid here.
Jordan Reid's new mock draft brings Ruben Bain Jr. to the Chiefs defensive front
In his post on X promoting the mock draft, Reid mentioned that plenty of EDGE rushers were included in this first round. It is a spot that the Chiefs need to add talent at to help boost the pass rush entering 2026. As Reid mentioned, Kansas City finished tied for 22nd in 2025 with 35 total sacks. He gave the Chiefs a defensive lineman that can not only play EDGE, but perhaps has the capability to align all across the defensive line. That player is Miami Hurricanes Rueben Bain Jr.
Reid believes that Bain Jr. is “capable of playing 0- to 9-technique” on the defense. Moving guys up and down the defensive line is something Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has done throughout his time in Kansas City. That was especially true with the depth he had during Super Bowl-winning seasons.
There are other distinct elements that could make Bain Jr. an easy fit for a team like Kansas City in the top 10. His size thresholds at 6-foot-3, 275 pounds match what Spagnuolo has incorporated at defensive line. There are going to be some arm-length questions surrounding Bain Jr. during the pre-draft process. Fans can shake their heads at that item being a major sticking point for teams all they want. If there is any positive for Bain Jr. and his arm length, this particular draft class is littered with plenty of defensive linemen that face arm-length questions as a whole.
“Bain’s game is all about power; he’s a heavy-handed defender who regularly overwhelms blockers at the point of attack,” Reid said. That style of play also makes Bain Jr. a natural fit for what Kansas City typically gravitates toward at that position. Whenever a defensive lineman is viewed as a potential fit for this Chiefs regime, the phrase “heavy hands” comes up frequently.
In this mock draft scenario, Bain Jr. was the third defender to come off the board. It would not be shocking if K.C. did indeed find themselves in that exact scenario come the actual draft. Even if Bain Jr. were not available, the Chiefs could still have almost any defender on the board to choose from in a year where it seems like plenty of defensive changes are coming.
Bain Jr. has currently tallied 19.5 career sacks in college football for Miami. 8.5 of those have come this season. The beauty for Bain Jr. and the Hurricanes is that their season is still going. After defeating Texas A&M and Ohio State in the first two rounds of the College Football Playoff, Miami has a semifinal matchup against Ole Miss this week. So fans that are hoping to see Bain Jr. get selected by their favorite team come April will still get at least one more look at what he can do.