The Chiefs are firmly in on Rueben Bain Jr as they look for help off the edge, with Kansas City’s interest coming as the team tries to rebound from a 6-11 season and a Super Bowl LIX loss that ended its bid for a threepeat. The team met with Bain this month, and Kansas City now holds the No. 9 overall pick, a spot it has not occupied since 2013.
That matters because the Chiefs need a pass rusher opposite George Karlaftis, and last season they managed only 33 sacks. Chris Jones will turn 32 this year, Felix Anudike-Uzomah has not panned out through three seasons, and the team has already moved on from Mike Danna and let Charles Omenihu leave in free agency. Jeremy Fowler said Kansas City is firmly in on Bain, and the fit is easy to see after a season in which the defense lacked a reliable second edge threat.
Kansas City’s draft position changes the equation. The Chiefs last had a top-10 pick in 2013, then traded up to No. 10 in 2017 to take Patrick Mahomes, and this year’s spot at No. 9 gives them a rare chance to chase an immediate difference-maker without reaching down the board.
Bain brings the production to match the buzz. He had 9.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss to help Miami reach the CFP title game, and he had 7.5 sacks as a freshman in 2023. The concern is his sub-31-inch arm length, but Kansas City is comfortable with that measurement, a sign the team believes his play strength and burst can outweigh the length questions.
There is another layer to his profile, and it will follow him through the draft. Bain was cited for careless driving in 2024 after an accident that left a woman in a coma for three months before her eventual passing, with police crash records saying his vehicle struck another car before hitting concrete barriers on both sides of the highway. No suspected use of drugs or alcohol emerged from the crash, and no tests to determine drug or alcohol use were performed at the time. The incident has not been expected to hurt him much, but it remains part of the picture as teams weigh his talent against the rest of the file.
For the Chiefs, the issue is less about whether they need another edge rusher than whether Bain is the right answer at No. 9. They have the pick, the need and now the reported conviction that he belongs in the conversation.