Rueben Bain is quite locked in ahead of his NFL debut season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite being a projected top 10 pick, the EDGE rusher fell all the way to the 15th pick, but that doesn’t matter to him.
Via a transcript of the Buccaneers, Bain said, “My motivation is myself. I always want to be the best player on the field no matter what. No outside factor is going to kind of weigh into that.” That outside factor is clearly his fall in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Bain was in no mood of smiling during the draft, he was all business. The Buccaneers must be thrilled to have him as they really needed a big-time pass rusher, and ended up with arguably the best in the draft.
Bain could be a playmaker from the get-go
Bain was the most dominant player in last year’s College Football Playoffs. He had five sacks in four games. He was key for Miami to go all the way to the National Championship game. Overall, he had 54 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks during the regular season.
Rueben Bain Jr. has been waiting for this moment his whole life 😤
— NFL (@NFL) April 24, 2026
2026 NFL Draft – Friday at 7pm ET on NFLN/ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/4tyuncR662
For the Buccaneers, this is a massive pick. Haason Reddick didn’t produce as expected, and they also ranked 20th in scoring defense last year. With Bain, they get a certified threat in the edge to bring back some impact in the defensive line.
Bucs are a very pressured team
Last season’s debacle saw a five-year streak of going to the playoffs, and four-year streak of winning the NFC South end. Hence, the pressure is on to get back into the fray. Last season, the Bucs started pretty well the season but ended up collapsing due to injuries and bad defense.
Now, they will have the chance to get back on track, with a healthy roster, and a new playmaker like Rueben Bain on defense. If the team can’t get things right, head coach Todd Bowles might not be there in 2027.
