NFL Trade Rumors
We’ve reached the end of the regular season in college football. Conference championship weekend is in the books, bowl season is officially underway, and the College Football Playoff starts this week. Most of these prospects have finished putting out tape in their college careers, so it’s time for me to officially unveil my updated position rankings for the 2026 NFL Draft.
Today I’m ranking my top 10 edge defenders, and this is a great class. I thought last year’s class was absurdly deep, and this year isn’t quite that good top to bottom. But there’s one elite, blue-chip prospect at the top, plenty of first-round talent behind him and some great options on Days 2 and 3 as well. It’s one of the stronger position groups in this draft class.
If you’d like to check out my other updated position rankings, you can do so below:
A four-star recruit from Miami, Bain announced himself on the college football stage as a true freshman in emphatic fashion. In 2023, he earned ACC Rookie of the Year and third-team All-ACC honors behind 44 tackles, eight sacks, three forced fumbles and a pass defensed. He suffered a significant calf injury in the season opener of his sophomore season, missing a chunk of the season as a result and hampering him even upon his return. But Bain had quite the comeback story as a junior, totaling 37 tackles, five sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and a pass defensed. He earned first-team All-ACC honors and ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
Measuring at 6-3, 275 pounds, Bain can line up and rush the passer from the inside or the outside. His first step off the line is otherworldly for a man his size, immediately putting the tackle in recovery mode. He consistently makes first contact with the blocker, dictating the rep and establishing early positioning. Bain has elite bend and flexibility for his size, turning the corner in an instant and playing with impressive agility and quickness for such a large human being.
But power is Bain’s calling card, and he has it in spades. His hands jolt blockers on contact, ripping through them to apply pressure to the quarterback. He collapses pockets in fractions of a second, completely discarding the tackle within a step or two to break up a play. Bain combines his power and speed with the technical precision of a much more experienced player, with a wide variety of pass rush moves at his disposal and multiple counters available to him off his initial move. As a run defender, Bain is among the best in the class, playing with discipline and holding the edge with his blend of power and vision.
For all his strengths, the one small asterisk on Bain’s profile is his lack of elite arm length. He has good length, don’t get me wrong, but not the kind of game-changing arm length that will consistently...
