The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were looking to bring more of an edge to their roster through the 2026 NFL Draft. Fittingly, that started with an edge rusher who plays with a relentless motor and an utter devotion to get to the quarterback.

The Buccaneers started their latest draft on Thursday evening with a bombshell, landing Miami outside linebacker Rueben Bain Jr. with the 15th overall pick when he was widely expected to be off the board in the top 10. General Manager Jason Licht and his staff had worked through countless iterations of how the first round might fall this year, and he admitted that there were "very few scenarios" in which Bain was available for the Buccaneers.

But he was, and the Bucs pounced. That kicked off a weekend in which Licht and company continued to emphasize the "I Am That Man" philosophy that has driven some of their most successful draft picks over the past dozen years, but this time around with more of a focus on an aggressive and attacking attitude on the field.

"Obviously, it was a point of emphasis for us," said Assistant General Manager Jason Licht after the Bucs made their final pick on Saturday. "It's something we've always talked about but definitely more of an enhanced focus on that this offseason. Throughout the whole draft, the energy and the pride that all of these guys show on the field is [important]. That's really where all of that 'I Am That Man' stuff starts – it's a football character thing but really when you watch them you want to be able to feel their energy, feel their passion for the game. I think that's something we always try to knock out of the park but feel pretty good about with this class."

The Bucs believe they are true contenders in 2026, and even more so after this weekend's efforts, but every draft also has to have an eye to the franchise's future. The fact that Bain and the team's second-round pick, hard-nosed Missouri linebacker Josiah Trotter, are both just 21 years old adds an extra element to the team-building process.

"The synergy of having a young edge rusher and a young MIKE to come in and kind of become the identity of our defense, that's really two of the more important spots on defense and I think we're really excited to have that youth," said McCartney. "It's a year-to-year league and it's hard to look past those [first] two to three years sometimes, but to be able to say, 'Hey, we might have these guys for [a long time].' I think Jason said to one of the guys on the phone, 'What are you doing for the next five to 10 years?' Hopefully we'll be able to see that through."

The Bucs used four of their first five draft picks on defensive players, all of whom they believe will bring that edgy mindset to that unit. Here is Tampa Bay's full 2026 draft class:

The Buccaneers started the draft with seven picks on their ledger and ended up drafting seven players, but not exactly in their original spots. After two straight years of "sticking-and-picking," Licht and the Buccaneers made their first draft-weekend trades since 2023, one up and one down. In the third round, the Bucs took an offer from the Green Bay Packers to move down seven spots from number 77 to number 84, in the process picking up an extra fifth-round pick. That additional pick eventually turned into Notre Dame guard Billy Schrauth. On Day Three, Licht sent the team's seventh-round pick, number 229, to the Las Vegas Raiders to move up from pick 195 to pick 185. The target was LSU tight end Bauer Sharp.

Prior to that, the Bain selection on Thursday night set a rather enthusiastic tone to the weekend; McCartney said he could hear a room full of scouts down the hall erupt at the announcement, and that he had never seen a draft room as excited. The Bucs' biggest need heading into 2026 was pretty clearly a more robust edge rush, and Bain changes the whole complexion of that group, which also includes Yaya Diaby, 2025 draft pick David Walker, recent free agency addition Al-Quadin Muhammad and long-time stalwart Anthony Nelson.

"Well I think [when] you add a player like Rueben and he does what we think he can do, it opens a lot of things up," said Licht. "It makes everyone along the defensive line better when you can have two edge presences. The line, the protections don't slide as much, you have to decide where to slide them [and] it opens things up. Potentially now [with] David Walker, we have an arsenal right now that we feel good [is] a very good rotation. with 'Quan' and we still have 'Nelly' and all that. You can't have too many. I say that every year, but then it just doesn't work out that we can draft one at a premium, but now we did. Hopefully we can reap the rewards here."

If edge rusher was the Bucs' biggest need, off-ball linebacker was a close second and it was no surprise when that position was addressed midway through Round Two. Trotter is a big middle-of-the-field defender with well-developed run-stopping skills but the Bucs also think he can contribute in coverage and as a blitzer. He will get an opportunity to win the MIKE linebacker job next to free agency addition Alex Anzalone, more of a WILL type.

"He's an old school, downhill MIKE that can play the run, which is hard to find nowadays," said Vice President of Player Personnel Mike Biehl. "With the college game the way it has went, it's all lateral and everybody is looking for the speed stuff. To us, he has enough speed to play in our league. Now, if you said he's a better run defender than a pass defender, I would say yeah, that's probably fair, but we think he has the capability to be a three-down linebacker."

The Buccaneers followed those two picks with their first addition to the offense, nabbing Georgia State wideout Ted Hurst in the third round after that small trade down mentioned above. Hurst had one of the most intriguing size/speed combinations in the draft, as he stands 6-4 and 210 pounds and ran a 4.42-second 40-yard dash at the Combine. Naturally, this pick will be connected with the departure of future Hall of Famer Mike Evans in free agency in March, but the Bucs obviously are not expecting any newcomer to replace the greatest receiver in franchise history. That said, the Bucs did feel the need to add that type of player to their pass-catching corps.

"He is a big guy that's 6'4, 210 and runs in the 4.4's," said Biehl. "That's intriguing to us. Again, the downfield stuff, he's got really good ball skills too. Not only can he get over the top and beat guys deep, but if it is contested, he has the ability to make those catches. He's got a lot of traits that we look for at the X position, which is what Mike played, and we'll just see how it all plays out."

That pick rounded out the second night of the draft but the Buccaneers opened Day Three with a player they thought might have been off the board in the first three rounds. Going back to the Miami Hurricanes defense that had already yielded the team Bain, the Bucs eagerly snatched up versatile defensive back Keionte Scott. Scott thrived in a nickel role for the national championship runners-up last season but has previously played on the outside and might even be able to play safety.

The Bucs needed cornerback help, more, however, and feel that the addition of Scott opens up more options for the secondary when he is added to the trio of Zyon McCollum, Jacob Parrish and Benjamin Morrison.

"One of the things we all talked about is that we need to add another body to that corner room that we can rely on," said McCartney. "Pretty thin back there, admittedly. Adding him now brings back the versatility that Parrish can play nickel, Parrish can play outside, BMo takes another step this year on the outside and we feel better about the room having a guy that can play multiple spots."

The Bucs had two fifth-round picks after the trade with Green Bay and used the first one on Clemson defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart. Capehart's availability on Day Three probably was the product of his relatively low statistical production in college, but the Bucs saw a prospect who has the potential to out-produce those numbers at the next level. The Bucs have clearly placed an emphasis on getting more stout and explosive in their defensive front with the free agency additions of A'Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nuñez-Roches following last year's drafting of Elijah Simmons.

"He's an explosive player," said McCartney of Capehart. "You see glimpses of it. You see him work out and he's a guy that also makes you go back and watch [game tape]. You see his ability to uncoil his hips, he's got really long arms, he's explosive. His straight-ahead power is similar to A'Shawn and Vita [Vea]; he's going to be able to walk you back in the pocket."

The Bucs' four defensive picks in the 2026 draft play four different positions and have very different profiles. However, it's possible that all four will aid in the Bucs' distinct effort to put more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

"Keionte's a pretty good blitzer; he's a pretty good cover player, too," said McCartney. "I think Capehart's probably going to be a better rusher at this level. I'm not saying that's the reason we drafted him but I think we can unleash him a little bit more. And Trotter's a very good blitzer as well; he's got a lot of assets for him in the pass game as far as coming after the quarterback. I think we're really excited about the physicality that we've added on all sides of the ball."

While defense was clearly the top priority for the Bucs in this year's draft, they did finish their efforts with a pair of picks on the other side of the ball. The fifth-round pick acquired in Friday's trade with Green Bay landed the team Schrauth, who fits that same mold of passion and relentlessness but within a unit that sets the tone for the offense.

"That is probably the most important room just for those guys to jell and those guys to be the identity of your football team," said McCartney. "Those are the kinds of things that definitely stand out [about Schrauth, the way he plays, character aside the way he plays is what we desire to be. And character backs him up as a captain at Notre Dame."

Finally, after the Bucs' second trade of the weekend, the draft concluded with the selection of Sharp, who began his collegiate career as a Wildcat quarterback at Southeastern Louisiana. Sharp has tantalizing speed and receiving skills for the position and is an eager blocker. The Buccaneers might employ more two-TE sets under new Offensive Coordinator Zac Robinson, so the addition of another weapon at that position is notable.

"Really excited about Bauer," said McCartney. "An interesting story – he was a quarterback and then transitioned to tight end, did some Wildcat stuff, which was really exciting to see him do. And then the postseason stuff was really good. Our scouts were on him all fall; I didn't get to see him until the East-West Shrine Game but he was really good there. His combination workout was one of the best ones. It just makes you kind of go back and look. He's played tight end for three years now and has been productive there. I think there's a lot of athletic ability for him to develop in the pass game. I think his size and his speed and his toughness are going to help us on special teams, too."