In 2022, Akheem Mesidor and Rueben Bain Jr. both decided they were taking their talents to South Beach to play for the Miami Hurricanes. The elder Mesidor headed down in April after transferring from West Virginia, while the four-star high school recruit Bain committed in December as a native of Miami.
The pair shared the field from 2023-2025, and in that time combined for 49 sacks and 75.5 tackles for loss. I’m stating the obvious here, but that’s pretty spectacular.
In their final season alone, Mesidor totaled 12.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss, while Bain put up 9.5, 15.5, and threw an interception in there to boot. If you needed any additional reasoning as to why the Hurricanes made the National Championship, I think you just got it.
That defense was flat-out elite, and this duo on the edge was a central reason why.
Now, they are headed for the NFL, both as likely first-round picks, but their time together might not be over quite yet: I think the Cowboys may double-dip on the Miami Hurricanes stars when Roger Goodell puts them on the clock with the 12th and 20th picks in the first round.
Rueben Bain Jr. at 12 is More Likely Than You Think
Focusing solely on the higher-ranked of the two, many have crossed the possibility of Bain-to-Dallas off, barring a trade-up in the draft; I disagree with that assessment.
If you’ve been following him as a prospect, you’ve surely heard about his arm length problem by now. He measured in at the combine with sub-31″ arms, which is simply put, historically short for a pass-rush prospect.
Some may see it as semantics that don’t define a player’s ability, but there are NFL teams that will see it as a major issue.
Rushing the passer in the “big leagues” is a much different thing than at the collegiate level. The arm-length-based leverage issues he didn’t consistently have at Miami, he certainly could face against the best-of-the-best at the next level.
Still, some smart defensive line coach is going to see past it and could make this kid a dominant pass-rusher in the NFL; the question is, will one of those guys win a war room argument before Dallas picks at 12?
If not, which is certainly possible, you could certainly see Rueben Bain Jr. slip to the Cowboys, where they’d run his card to the podium, regardless of any arm-length measurement.
Akheem Mesidor Squarely in Contention at 20, & That Won’t Change With Bain at 12
If the first Miami Hurricanes stud gets to 12, they’ll take him, and if the second is still available at 20, which might be likely, they could see it as a way to immediately fix the pass rush with a pair that already has familiarity.
A few things could hold Dallas back, and the first is a league-wide concern with Mesidor: that’s his age (he’ll be 25 by Week 1), and some repeated foot injuries over his collegiate career. Secondly, they may see too many holes in the defense to double-dip at any one spot.
On a smaller level, new DC Christian Parker’s secondary-based focus may prefer at least one of those picks to be on the back-end of the defense.
However, we’ve also seen the emphasis placed on the defensive line this past year.
Acquiring Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary, and drafting Donovan Ezeriuaku were all high-cost moves aimed at stuffing the run and getting to the quarterback in the post-Micah Parsons era.
If you throw Bain and Mesidor alongside that group, and use your later assets on another cornerback and a trade for a veteran linebacker, as we’ve heard they are interested in, you could see this defense turnaround faster than anybody expected.
The sheer talent of these two guys, the team’s still-significant need at pass-rusher, and their reported interest in both prospects could take shape as a perfect storm that makes the Cowboys’ defense look like the Miami Hurricanes West.
Was this helpful?
Comments