Panthers may be totally out on this top 2026 NFL Draft prospect

When it comes to the top NFL draft prospects, teams go to extraordinary lengths to vet them—looking for any potential red flags and any reason to slide them down their respective boards. And one of the 2026 class' very best players has become the subject of that conversation this week. A recent report from the Read Optional states that University of Miami pass rusher Rueben Bain Jr.

was involved in a 2024 car crash in which one of the passengers later died. Since the news dropped on Sunday, many have speculated if Bain—who has been projected as a top-10 pick—will experience a slide during the selection process later this month. Well, according to A to Z Sports , multiple NFC South teams have now soured on Bain—with one totally flipping him off their draft board.

Here's what Easton Freeze and Ryan Roberts reported yesterday: Another source from an NFC South team told A to Z Sports that they are also aware of the incident. As of now, they have "flipped over on their board," meaning that he is close to being off the board altogether... There's another NFC South team that shares a similar opinion.

If the Carolina Panthers are indeed one of these teams, it's probably for the best that they no longer consider Bain a potential target early on. Off-field concerns aside, one of the biggest lessons from last year's draft was how teams don't need to invest a first-round pick in order to get a quality edge prospect. Rather than target one at No.