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JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - AUGUST 17: Helmets of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Jacksonville Jaguars during a preseason game at EverBank Field on August 17, 2024 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
With the 15th pick of the 2026 the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select… Rueben Bain Jr. Bain 6’3 270-pound edge rusher out of Miami. At Miami last season Bain recorded 9.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss.
What The Experts Are Saying
Blake Schuster had this to say about the Miami Hurricane, “Bain stepped up in the College Football Playoff and that improved his stock,” wrote Schuster. “At 6-foot-2 and 263 pounds, his physicality and power will fit in at the NFL level immediately. He wasn’t as productive numbers-wise as you’d like from a top-10 pick and his arm length may force him inside long-term. But he has the makings of a high-end No. 2 pass rusher.”
Garrett Podell of CBS Sports wrote this about Bain, “Teams will overthink Miami All-American edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr.’s lack of arm length (30⅞ inches). Bain stood out at his pro day during position drills.”
Controversy
“Bain was cited for careless driving following a March 2024 crash that left a passenger in a coma and later resulted in the 22-year-old’s death three months after the incident,” as reported by
Ollie Connolly. “The careless driving charge was dismissed by a court about two weeks before the death, and no criminal liability has been found in connection with the crash.”
NFL teams were made aware of the situation and it could have been a reason that Bain fell to the Bucs at no. 15
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Reaction
CBS Sports grades the pick an “A+”, “Arm length is the only knock against Rueben Bain Jr., but it was a big enough question mark to drop him low enough on the board for the Buccaneers to scoop him up at No. 15. While he has some of the shortest arms we’ve ever seen from a first-round edge rusher, that didn’t stop him from terrorizing offenses last year as the most disruptive defensive end in college football. He arrives in Tampa Bay as the answer to the franchise’s biggest weakness: disrupting opposing quarterbacks.”
While USA Today hands the Bucs a similar A- grade, “Bain lasted longer than many might have thought, and the Buccaneers pulled off what might go down as one of the draft’s best value moves. Tampa Bay hasn’t been able to sort out its edge rush for some time, so bringing aboard the most disruptive force in college football should be a clear win for Jason Licht and Todd Bowles. The arm length debate might have cost Bain on draft night, but here’s betting he can navigate it to remain a persistent pest with the Bucs. This could become the defensive equivalent of the Emeka Egbuka pick with a rapid payoff.”
General manager Jason Licht acknowledged in his pre-draft press conference the team’s priorities. “We do see that there is a need for help there on the defensive side, for sure,” Licht told reporters on April 15. Licht also said the Bucs had “put a lot of energy” in scouting and finding the right guy and it seems like they found that in Reuben Bain Jr. Tampa Bay now has six remaining picks in the draft.