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PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 23: Rueben Bain Jr. of Miami celebrates after being selected fifteenth overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during Round One of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium on April 23, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Rueben Bain Jr. could be considered the steal of the draft by some. The edge rusher fell to pick no.15  for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and ESPN’s ben Solak thinks Bain could be the defensive rookie of the year.

One Of The Favorites

Solak had high-praise for the former Miami Hurricane listing him as a “front runner” for defensive rookie of the year,

“A pro-ready run defender who has little competition on the depth chart, Bain is exactly the sort of player I look for as a Rookie of the Year candidate … save for one key issue. He isn’t a high sack player,” Solak wrote.

“His short arms and favored power rush create a lot of disruption, but unless he lucks into some cleanup work, it’s hard to imagine Bain — who maxed out at 9.5 sacks in 16 games last season — suddenly becoming a double-digit sack artist in the league. Still, he might have enough TFLs and advanced stats to draw legit candidacy.”

The sports books agree with Bain listed as +550 on Draft Kings which is the second shortest odds fo defensive rookie of the year

Trotter Getting Love

Solak listed linebacker Josiah Trotter in the “long shot” category,

” Trotter’s unique skill in college was his burst and unreal football instincts to create tackles at or near the line of scrimmage,” Solak wrote. “He’s in the race for the award, especially if he shows during camp that he can play faster than the aging Anzalone.”

The former star Missouri linebacker was selected by the Bucs with the 46th overall pick.

Trotter’s odds to win defensive rookie of the year are +3000 via DraftKings

Are Bain’s Arms a Worry

There has been a lot of buzz about Bain’s short arm length but director of player personnel Mike Biehl believes there is not issue,

“He’s a shorter, thicker guy, but his power is unmatched in my opinion,” Biehl said. “He has the ability to go through blockers’ faces, which is a good place to start as a pass rusher in our league. Everybody talks about all the speed guys that can run the hoops, but it’s hard to get around Tristan Wirfs. He’s just as athletic as a lot of these guys and it’s tough to get around him, so you [have] to be able to incorporate some kind of power into your game and he has that already.

Bain even was compared to a boxing legend,

“Mike Tyson has short arms too,” said general manager Jason Licht, who selected another player with shorter arms in the first round at defensive tackle with Calijah Kancey (who had his fifth-year option picked up earlier this week) in 2023.

“I don’t know if people know, but I really love boxing,” Bain said after hearing the Tyson comment. “That’s the person I feel like is very vicious and violent, and I feel like my game is vicious and violent. So, to compare some of the mindset things, I feel like we have that in common. I feel like it’s a great comparison.”

The Bucs will hope Bain can channel his inner Tyson on the defensive line.