The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just wrapped up what could be a very impactful 2026 draft on their future.

The Bucs landed Miami Hurricanes EDGE Rueben Bain, Jr. at pick No. 15 after the uber-talented edge rusher fell out of the top 10, where many had projected him to go. They followed it up on Friday with another violent defender in Missouri LB Josiah Trotter and plucked long and fast Georgia State WR Ted Hurst in the next round.

On Saturday, they started with a bang by landing one of the potential steals of the draft in Miami CB Keionte Scott, who was one of the best nickel corners in all of college football last year for the Hurricanes.

So what does that all mean for the Buccaneers in the short and long term? Here are three overreactions that, well, might not be overreactions when all is said and done.

1) The Bucs are back to being contenders in the NFC

I’m not sure I’m fully, 100%, on board with this yet, but what Jason Licht did here was address the Bucs’ major shortcomings head on with some terrific football players. And hey, these are overreactions, right?

The Bucs were flat-out awful on defense last year down the stretch, and now they’ve injected some major juice into that side of the ball with some notable free agent additions (LB Alex Anzalone, DT A’Shawn Robinson, EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad) and now add a trio of potential starters in Bain, Trotter, and Scott. And the aforementioned rookie trio are uber-physical, nasty football players who should help make the Bucs’ group a tougher bunch as a result.

Offensively, the Bucs didn’t make as many additions, and Mike Evans’ loss will sting for years for fans, but there’s still plenty of talent in the cupboard. A new offensive coordinator (Zac Robinson) and perhaps finally a healthy offensive line could help spark a bounce back to days closer to 2023 and 2024 than 2025.

2) Rueben Bain, Jr. is the next great defender in Tampa Bay

The Bucs were the beneficiary back in 1995 when another Hurricanes defender fell into their laps in a controversial fashion. The New York Jets passed on Warren Sapp at No. 9, opting instead for Penn State TE Kyle Brady. The Jets’ error was the Bucs’ gain three picks later, as Sapp went on to a Hall of Fame career in Tampa and Oakland.

Sapp played with a brand of violence you didn’t see often. Bain is cut from that same cloth as far as controlled violence and playing with an edge. Short arms or not, teams were not able to block him, and he lived it the backfield against bottom feeders and national championship contending rosters last season.

The Bucs got a difference maker, and he’s going to show that it was a mistake for teams to get so hung up on measurables. Some guys are just tremendous football players regardless, and Bain is one of them.

3) Ted Hurst is going to make a big impact in 2026

I’m not going crazy and saying Hurst will fill the shoes that Mike Evans left behind in Tampa. But Hurst has the potential to end up proving it was a mistake to let him fall to midway through the third round.

Tampa Bay’s roster as constructed has a clear role that he can play. The Bucs have good size at tight end with Cade Otton a target and Bauer Sharp coming into the fold now. But their top three wideouts in Chris Godwin, Emeka Egbuka, and Jalen McMillan all stand around 6-1. The 6-4 Hurst has the potential to take up those red zone targets, and he has the ability to beat defensive backs deep down the field with his 4.42 speed.

The Bucs needed to find some solutions to Evans’ departure, and if Hurst can live up to his potential quickly, they’ll prove they got one of the steals of the second day of the draft.