The Steelers nearly jumped to pick 15 for a star receiver, but Tampa Bay’s obsession with pass rusher Reuben Bain Jr. halted the high-stakes draft day swap.
Had Rueben Bain Jr. gone where he was expected to in last month's draft, he would be with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Buccaneers might not have stayed at pick No. 15.
Per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had pick No. 21, were considering a trade with Tampa for pick No. 15.
For the Steelers, trading up would have ensured the team a chance to draft star USC receiver Makai Lemon, which they almost did anyway.
The Steelers were so close to taking Lemon that their general manager, Omar Khan, called him with the news. But at the last second, the Philadelphia Eagles traded with the Dallas Cowboys for pick No. 20, and took Lemon right before the Steelers' turn. Pittsburgh ended up pivoting to Arizona State offensive tackle Max Ihenachor, and all of this madness would have been avoided had the Steelers traded up with the Bucs.
For Tampa, trading back was a scenario many saw as realistic heading into the draft.
Edge rusher was arguably the team's biggest need, and even if Bain weren't available at No. 15, the Bucs could have gotten a standout at the position, such as UCF's Malachi Lawrence or Bain's University of Miami teammate, Akeem Mesidor.
But with Bain available, general manager Jason Licht and the company weren't motivated to trade back.
“When you look at what was in front of them… they thought they might have the opportunity to trade up with Tampa Bay at 15,” Dulac said on the Rich Eisen Show Saturday. “But when Rueben Bain was still on the board, Tampa Bay obviously loved Rueben Bain, and they weren’t willing to trade down.”
The Bucs had plenty of reason to love Bain.
He was one of the best defensive players in the country in 2025, earning ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors and being named a consensus All-American.
Bain ended the season with 9.5 sacks, giving him 20.5 for his career, and 15.5 tackles for loss, which ranked in the top 15 nationally.
He also helped Miami to its first national title game appearance in almost a quarter-century, which is a bonus since a lot of Buccaneers fans also love the Hurricanes.
Licht had previously confirmed that the Bucs were thinking of trading back, although he never mentioned any specific teams.
But he said that once the Bucs knew Bain would be available, Bucs vice president of player personnel Mike Biehl, who was in charge of sending the team's pick, was so excited that he may have broken the keyboard.
Bain has formed a bond with Bucs legend and NFL Hall of Famer Warren Sapp, who also fell the year he was drafted.
If Bain can be that type of player, he could change the franchise.
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