Veteran edge rusher YaYa Diaby sees a mirror image in the relentless rookie, praising his business-first mentality and the explosive power needed to revive Tampa Bay’s pass rush.
Reuben Bain Jr.’s offseason buzz has caught the eye of more than just the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans. The people from inside the building are also taking note of the Edge, and one veteran from the defensive room in particular is impressed with him
Bucs outside linebacker Yaya Diaby says Bain Jr. reminds him of his past self.
While appearing on ‘The Insiders’ on NFL Network, YaYa was asked about Bain.
“The dude’s serious,” YaYa said of Bain. “He’s about business, and I love that about him, because it reminds me of how I was when I first got to the Bucs.
The parallels between Diaby and Bain Jr. are striking, to say the least. Like Bain Jr, Diaby also came in with zero rookie fluff —bypassing the typical draft-night celebration energy and shifting immediately into a relentless, blue-collar focus to showcase their abilities on the grass.
“[YaYa was] all about business [as a rookie] and ready to showcase my abilities.”
Reuben Bain Jr. Can Match Yaya Diaby
As far as abilities go, Diaby’s rookie season was one of his best. The LB capped his first NFL season in 2023 with 7.5 sacks while only starting in 7 games. YaYa almost matched that number last year with seven sacks.
Bain looks like a player who can replicate the same stat sheet at YaYa. The 2025 ACC Player of the Year and also the Ted Hendricks Award winner, given to the nation's top defensive end, needs a strong presence on the defense right away since the Bucs have been struggling with their pass defenses for the past few years.
Plus, both Bain Jr. and Diaby are cut from the same cloth schematically. Neither fit the classic, track-athlete ‘speed-bender’ mold at 6-foot-3. Instead, they win with massive lower-body thickness and elite speed-to-power translation. Both players utilize an aggressive, leveraged attack to bulldoze blockers, using violent hands to shock offensive tackles at the point of attack and violently shed blocks.
Outside of Diaby, Tampa Bay’s pass rush last year was completely toothless. Because nobody else could win their matchups, opposing quarterbacks had enough time in the pocket to read a book before throwing.
The result was a total disaster. The Bucs' secondary got absolutely shredded, giving up over 4,300 yards and ranking a dismal 27th in the league against the pass.
If Bain doesn’t start collapsing the pocket immediately on the other side, teams will just double-team Diaby again. Opposing offenses will comfortably pick this secondary apart all day long. That’s why Bain is delivering to the expectations of Diaby, which would be the minimum outcome needed to get the Bucs defense on the map this season.
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