Five big NFL Combine questions that need answers
From arm length to medical red flags, these five prospects have key questions to answer before Kansas City goes on the clock at No. 9.
The NFL still runs sports media in its offseason. The league still dominates new cycles weeks after its most recent champion is crowned. The offseason follows shortly after the Super Bowl. Rumors start flying, and the promise of adding young talent through the NFL Draft keeps fans interested even when there aren’t games happening.
The NFL Combine is a media spectacle. It’s not always the on-field workouts that are the most important things coming out of Indianapolis. Medicals, interviews, official measurements, and more are important in piecing things together to evaluate this draft class.
With the Chiefs picking in the top ten, they get the luxury of being pickier than they’ve ever been. There are only eight picks before they’ll get their turn, so they can scrutinize the top of the class differently than they’ve had to (or needed) in the past.
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There are some candidates for pick 9 that have questions surrounding them. This week is an opportunity for players that the Chiefs could consider with their selection to silence some doubts and improve their stock. Here are five players who need to answer some questions about their draft profile.
Rueben Bain Jr.’s arm length
He won’t work out, and probably doesn’t need to after what he put on tape this year, but all eyes will be on Rueben Bain Jr.'s arms. Reports out of Miami before the season had his arm length below or right at 31 inches. If true, those measurements would be among the shortest arms for an edge rusher in the 21st century.
Some people suggest the solution may be to kick him inside with that lack of length, but that arm length would also be among the shortest among defensive tackles in the last 25 years as well.
Verifying the arm length and settling the issue once and for all will be a welcome step in the process. Perhaps it dissuades the first eight teams from taking the former Hurricane. I wouldn’t mind.
The length concerns are about the only concern with how Bain Jr.’s game would translate in Kansas City. The dense, powerful, energetic defensive end has the makings to be a force on all three downs