Ruben Bain has been the gift that keeps on giving ever since he fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2026 NFL draft. The team thought they had no shot at him falling to them and ran to the podium to select him. So far, he is living up to the expectations of a player who had no business falling out of the top ten.
Jenna Laine of ESPN reported that the entire team, but specifically Baker Mayfield and Todd Bowles, were ecstatic with what they had seen from Bain so far. Bowles noted that he knew that Bain was athletically talented, but what has impressed him the most is his mental acumen.
“For me, it is his intelligence, his understanding of the game,” coach Todd Bowles said. “There are some things that you cannot teach, and he does not learn like a normal rookie, and he does some things that a three- or four-year guy can do.”
Being that advanced this early will not only give him a chance to get on the field early, it will give him a leg up on the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are Ecstatic with Ruben Bain so far
GettyRueben Bain Jr. #4 of the Miami Hurricanes (now of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
One of the big reasons Bain fell in the draft was his arm length. His arms are much shorter than a typical edge rusher, and teams must have been nervous that he could not handle the excessive length that comes from offensive tackles in the NFL.
However, it was clear in college that he was smart enough to get around any of those concerns. Now, he is showing that he can do the same thing in the NFL.
This is important because Bain’s arms are not going to get any longer magically. However, being smart enough to understand his limitations and how he can get around them to put himself in a position to succeed is what is going to be valuable for him. So far, the Bucs have seen that.
Bain Should Give The Bucs Instant Impact
Yaya Diaby is a locked-in starter on one side of the Bucs’ defensive front. However, they signed Al-Quadin Muhammad to compete with Bain for starting work on the other side. Muhammad has been in the NFL for eight seasons, but he has 36 career starts. Of those, 26 came during the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
So, he is a great complementary player, but the expectation should not be for him to have a starting role. If Bain is flashing this early, he is nearly a lock to be on the field for the first snaps of Week 1.
As things stand, Bain is currently tied with David Bailey for the best odds to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year award. That is despite five defensive players being selected ahead of him.
Arvell Reese does not have a defined position, while Mansoor Delane and Caleb Downs might not have the production as secondary players to win the award. However, Bain has better odds than Sonny Styles as well, which shows that expectations are sky high, despite the draft drop.
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