The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came into the 2026 NFL Draft needing edge rusher help in the worst way.

And boy, how they might have just found a solution to that on Thursday night.

Projected by many to potentially take his Miami Hurricanes teammate, EDGE Akheem Mesidor, at pick No. 15, instead, the Bucs went with Bain instead.

Rueben Bain, Jr. scouting report

Age: 21

Career projection: All-Pro potential

School: Miami (FL)

Bain has sub-31-inch arms, good for 0th percentile arm length. It is a hurdle he will have to overcome at the next level. As far as his skillset, the EDGE rusher has a deep bag of pass rush moves and is fantastic against the run. Bain uses great power for his size and length, and he is also versatile in his alignments. He spent time both on the inside and outside of the DL at Miami. Bain can step in as a day one starter at the next level and continue building his already-impressive repertoire of moves to get the QB.

Final grade

Look, despite the supposed issue with his arm length, Bain used them just fine in becoming a dominant force last year. He took over games and lived in backfields. He and Mesidor put on a show in the season opener on national TV against Notre Dame and announced the presence of the Hurricanes’ defense, flat-out embarrassing a good Irish offense line.

While Bain had 9.5 sacks, which is a good number, his number of quarterback pressures was off the charts. According to Pro Football Focus, he had 83 QB pressures last year, which was two more than No. 2 overall pick David Bailey and more than double the number of Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell (41).

Bain was also known at Miami to keep slights in a notebook or on his cell phone and use them as motivation, so he has an alpha mentality you want from a potential impact player and team leader.

Bottom line: Tampa Bay just addressed their most pressing need with one of the most dominating players at that position. This was a home run for the Bucs.

Grade: A+