The talk about Miami edge Rueben Bain Jr. And the length of his arms has not stopped even though the draft is just one week away. It is actually getting bigger. This week NFL reporter Jori Epstein said that many players had longer arm measurements at their days this spring.
This is making people wonder if the arm length numbers from the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis were completely correct. Epstein also said that many NFL teams told her they like to look at wingspan than arm length when they are looking at players like Bain
This is important because his arm length at the combine was 30 and 7/8 inches, which’s very short for an edge rusher. His wingspan is 77 and a half inches, which is a little below average.
A note on Rueben Bain Jr. 30 7/8-inch arms at combine: There’s been a slew of longer arm measurements at pro days, prompting questions about precision of combine marks this year.
Also interesting: Multiple teams tell me they prefer wingspan to arm length.https://t.co/C65UYPw0U8
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) April 17, 2026
NFL teams are starting to think that wingspan is more important than the length of the arms
The difference between these two measurements is big. Bain’s wingspan is not as short as his arm length so it is not as big of a problem.
A study by PFF looked at over 750 players since 2015. Found that wingspan is more important for success in the NFL than arm length.
Bain did well at Miami. He had 20.5 sacks and 33.5 tackles for loss in 38 games. He was also the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Had five sacks in three College Football Playoff games. At the combine, he said that teams were not asking him a lot of questions about his arm length.
The combine measurement is what teams are looking at. If players are having longer arm measurements at their pro days, then it is fair to ask if teams should be paying so much attention to that one number.
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