If you told Bucs fans a couple of months ago the season would collapse, but they would land Rueben Bain Jr. with the 15th overall pick, they wouldn’t believe it was from this planet. Fast forward to tonight, and Bucs fans have a reason to be excited once again about their defense.
With the 15th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Miami (FL) edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr.
As we mentioned months ago, this pick seemed insane for fans to consider. Even for us here on Bucs Wire, when we did Summer Scouting and got first eyes on him, we didn’t think they would have a chance at him. In the Summer of 2025, we had this to say about his best traits:
An excerpt we wrote as well in his player summary reads, “Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. is going to be one of the top players if he ends up declaring next January when the time comes. The Hurricane edge rusher demonstrates explosiveness off the edge, a plethora of moves in his back pocket to get by tackles, and a knack for providing run support on top of it all. His bend ability is a thing of beauty as he is able to look like a speed skater turning the corner at times at the Olympics, he just gets around the edge time and again with ease.”
Not too often do players get compared to speed skaters, but here we are. The Bucs have landed a good one in Bain.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Notes from scouting report on Bucs 2026 NFL Draft pick Rueben Bain Jr.
Reporting by Andrew Harbaugh, Buccaneers Wire / Bucs Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
