In the first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers snagged one of the most physical edge rushers in the class with Rueben Bain Jr. Bain, a three-year starter at Miami for the Hurricanes, lined up from both a three- and four-point stance.
NFL Hall of Famer Jason Taylor served as his defensive line coach, maximizing Bain's power and iron-fisted hands at the collegiate level. The freight train earned first-team All-ACC honors in 2025 and stuns blockers off balance. He attacks leverage and is a stout run defender. Bain overwhelms blockers with brute power and can anchor against double teams.
"You see Bain, he is built like a fire hydrant and a Volkswagen," laughed Taylor in a CBS Sports interview. "He has dense muscle mass and bends very well. He is very flexible for a man his size, especially with his lower half, and great flexion in his ankles and very powerful, strong. He came from a good high school program and has furthered his strength and his flexibility and the No.1 thing I will always refer back to when talking about these guys [Bain and Akheem Mesidor], is that they love football. If you love ball, you will do whatever you need to do to be great. If you don't love ball but you like what ball gives you, it is going to be hit or miss…Bain has always been 10 toes down the hardest worker. Violent. He is not just physical, he is violent and we talk about violence in this building a lot."
If teams try and block Bain with a tight end, he makes them pay. Over 38 college games, he collected 20.5 sacks and 33.5 tackles for loss. During the draft, the Bucs made a concerted effort to add players that possess a nasty temperament on the field and Bain fits that criteria. He deconstructs blocks with heavy hands and a tough disposition in the trenches that Todd Bowles can weaponize in Tampa Bay to keep offenses off-kilter.
There is no rubric that exists to determine whether a college prospect's production will translate to the NFL into Pro Bowls and All-Pros, but a pivotal prerequisite and recurring theme for success is passion. An unadulterated love of the game is exemplified in play on the gridiron and Bain shows it in spades.
