Bucs snag ACC Defensive Player of the Year Rueben Bain Jr. late, adding explosive pass-rush talent to bolster their struggling front.
An in-state surprise fell in the laps of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on NFL draft night when the team selected Rueben Bain Jr. with their 15th pick.
Ahead of the draft, Miami defensive end Akheem Mesidor had become the most common mocked pick for the Bucs.
Instead, Mesidor was still waiting -- he was taken later, at No. 22, by the Los Angeles Chargers -- when Tampa Bay swooped in and snagged his Hurricanes teammate and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
Last season, Bain recorded 15.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks, and earned second-team All-American honors. His 92.5 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season ranked third among 852 qualified edge defenders.
Against the run, Bain recorded 29 solo tackles and forced two fumbles, adding an interception in pass protection.
After originally being in contention for the No. 1 overall selection at the end of the college season, when the Hurricanes took runner-up to the Hoosiers in the national championship game, Bain's draft stock sagged after reports resurfaced about a car accident in 2024 in which a passenger in the vehicle he was driving died and he was cited for careless driving. The charges were later dropped.
On the football field, Bain is disruptive and elusive at the line of scrimmage, bending around tackles to pressure the quarterback. He uses both speed and power to attack offensive linemen, exploding off the line of scrimmage.
Bain possesses great hand skills at the line as well, using quick, decisive movements to gain advantages and pressure the backfield.
Adding to the defensive line is not surprising, as the edge position was the most-prominently taken position on PFSN's draft simulator.
Roughly 44 percent of the time, an edge rusher was taken on the simulator, but Bain was only mocked in less than 3 percent of drafts, not anticipating such a severe decline in draft stock.
He joins a Bucs defensive front that has struggled to pressure the quarterback consistently, especially last season.
Tampa's 19.8-percent pressure rate, per Pro Football Reference, was good for just 25th in the NFL, highlighting the need for more explosiveness in the trenches.
Bain will fit in nicely alongside Yaya Diaby and Vita Vea, serving as one of the Bucs' most gifted pass rushers.
In an extremely deep edge rushing draft class, Bain was seen as a top-three prospect, trailing Texas Tech's David Bailey and Ohio State's Arvell Reese.
Falling to No. 15 is a huge blessing for Tampa, securing a defensive end to line up alongside Diaby.
Entering the draft, Bain was seen as a distant hope for the Bucs, but they leave getting one of the best pure pass rushers in the class.
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