NFL
Exclusive: Execs Split on Jets’ No. 2 Pick as Rueben Bain Jr. Challenges David Bailey Buzz
Texas Tech's David Bailey and Miami's Rueben Bain, Jr. are top defensive prospects in the upcoming NFL draft. While Bailey is linked to the Jets, Bain has also gained attention for his versatility and disruptive play. Both players are expected to be top 10 picks and could make an immediate impact in the league. The Jets are in need of defensive rebuilding and may consider trading their pick.
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The early pre-combine buzz at the top of the draft has focused on Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey, who is being linked to the Jets with the second-overall pick in mock drafts with regularity. But two longtime NFL talent evaluators, who have studied the defensive line prospects extensively, believe Miami’s Rueben Bain, Jr. Could very well be the first player to hear his name called once the Raiders select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the top selection.
Bain was a potent force during Miami’s surprising national championship push and he is a proven disruptor. Bailey earns very high marks in that regard as well, but while a consensus seems to be forming in mock draft nation about which way this will go, NFL executives are looking at this choice with a nuanced perspective.
Ultimately, it will come down to what the Jets prefer with that pick – or what the preference is from the team they dealt the pick to, but as teams size up these prospects one thing stood out to some trust evaluators.
Where Can Bain Stand Out?
“I like Bain a little more, and it comes down to one thing,” said one longtime exec who has watched both players at length. “He’s more versatile. I love what he does as an inside pass rusher out of nickel (five defensive back looks).”
Another longtime exec said: “Bain might be a little more versatile.”
Regardless, both players are very likely to be selected within the top 10 picks and both evaluators said they had them both graded for now among the top five players in this draft.
The Jets are desperate to rebuild a defense that has been dismantled in recent years, and top stars traded at multiple levels of the defense and the defensive line, in particular, falling into disrepair.
Either defender would be a welcome arrival, though there is potential, given how bereft of talent New York’s roster is and how many upgrades are required, that the Jets opt to trade out should another team identify a particular player as someone they have to be positioned to select second-overall.
Bain and Bailey, the evaluators believe, have the ability to make an immediate impact in the NFL and prove transformational wherever they land.
La Canfora has covered over 20 Super Bowls and League Meetings and NFL drafts, building a wide network of sources throughout all aspects of the game. He was an award winning print journalist as well, working at The Detroit Free Press and The Baltimore Sun prior to his first stint at The Washington Post. He has covered sporting events around the world, including two Winter Olympics and all of the 2006 World Cup. He attended his first NFL game in 1978, and would soon kindle what has become a lifelong love and appreciation of the sport. La Canfora is also a professional handicapper, specializing in the NFL, creating a daily sports wagering game show - "Wanna Bet?" He also hosts nationally broadcast NFL radio shows in the US, as well as a daily sports radio show in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.