The speculative hype around Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. is about to come to a merciful end when he takes the field against the Cincinnati Bengals in the regular-season opener on September 13.
Few believe the result will be anything but Bain immediately establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with.
CBS Sports NFL reporter Douglas Clawson believes Bain has a shot to make NFL history in the process, predicting Bain will break the rookie record of 14.5 sacks set by Tennessee Titans defensive end Jevon Kearse in 1999.
Bain dropped to the Buccaneers in the 1st round of the 2026 NFL Draft due to concerns over his arm length and off-field issues.
“Short arms (and AC sprain) be damned,” Clawson wrote on August 31. “First-round pick Rueben Bain Jr. will break Jevon Kearse’s rookie record (14.5 sacks in 1999) with 15.0 sacks in 2026. Production over projection will win the day this year as the Miami Hurricanes standout will spit in the face of the detractors who would point to how he had the second-shortest arm length among edge rushers drafted in the first round since 2003.”
In 3 seasons at Miami, Bain had 20.5 sacks — including missing 4 games due to injury his sophomore season in 2024.
Quick Primer on Former NFL Star Jevon Kearse
Kearse, while probably not a name familiar to anyone under 35, was a phenomenon in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Drafted by the Titans in the 1st round (No. 16 overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft, Kearse had 1 of the great nicknames of his era — “The Freak” — after the 6-foot-5, 265-pound Florida product was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 1998 and ran the 40-yard dash in an incredible 4.43 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Kearse not only set the NFL rookie record at 14.5 sacks in 1999, but he also led the NFL with 6 forced fumbles, was named NFL All-Pro and earned the 1st of 3 consecutive Pro Bowl selections — he was also the best defensive player on a team that came within 1 yard of winning the Super Bowl.
Bucs Received Rare Grade for Drafting Rueben Bain
Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski gave the Buccaneers an “A+” grade for drafting Bain — something that came after several teams tried to entice them with trade packages to give up their pick.
“The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just made a statement,” Sobleski wrote in April. “The organization waded through all of the noise and landed an elite prospect. Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. was an every-down disruptor the past season. His power to rock blockers is an absolute joy to watch. Then again, too many allowed one number to blur the evaluation.”
A pre-draft scandal preceded Bain’s drop out of the Top 10.
On April 12, reports surfaced that Bain was involved in a fatal car crash in 2024 in which he was cited for careless driving, and 1 of his passengers died 2 weeks later.
The Buccaneers’ defense, so sorely in need of a defensive star, now appears to have found 1.
Bucs Rookie Rueben Bain Predicted to Break 27-Year-Old NFL Record