The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Miami edge rusher Reuben Bain Jr. with the 15th pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night, addressing a need to bolster a leaky defense that wasn't as reliable as usual last season.
Bain led the nation last year with 9.5 sacks and collected 20.5 over his three seasons at UM, which reached the College Football Playoff championship in January. He was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and won the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation's top defensive end. Some scouts list him the draft's best defensive lineman.
Bucs general manager Jason Licht expressed surprise that a player of Bain's caliber was available.
"There were very few scenarios where we thought he'd be there, but there were scenarios, and we're very excited," he said. "I've probably never seen a more excited draft room."
The 6-foot-2, 275-pound Bain should mmediately improve a Bucs' defense that has strugged to find a legitimate pass rusher since Shaq Barrett had 10 sacks in 2021.
"He's very unique, where he's got a great blend of power and athleticism," said Licht. "He can bend, he's got get-off, he's very powerful, he's got very explosive - not just athleticism but powerful hands, powerful strength."
Licht added that Bain plays "very edgy," and with a chip on his shoulder.
“I love football, I love my teammates. If they’re not my teammates, I hate ‘em. This is what I love to do, and I’m a Buc,” Bain told Tampa-area reporters. I feel like my motor and my mindset is contagious because when people see me, how I play and how I care about the game of football, it kind of spreads off on other people.”
The Bucs tied for 18th in sacks last year with 37, led by outside linebacker Yaya Diaby with 7. Bain will join Diaby and first-round defensive tackles Vita Vea (2018) and Calijah Kancey (2023) along the front seven.
"You add a player like Rueben, and if he does what we think he can do, it opens a lot of things up," said Licht. "It makes everybody along the D-Line better when you can have two edge presences."
The Bucs went 8-9 last season, losing seven of nine games following a 6-2 start to end a string of five consecutive playoff appearances that included a Tom Brady-led Super Bowl run during the 2020 season.
"The cherry on top of staying in Florida, man. I have family members that stay in uh Tampa," said Bain, 21, who attended Miami Central High before going to UM. "So, it's going to be a familiar atmosphere for me. I'm just excited and stoked to get there."
Bain said he would be a good fit for Todd Bowles' defense.
“Bowles is an aggressive defensive like-minded coach, and I’m an aggressive defensive like-minded player,” Bain said. “It’s going to be real simple, real smooth.”
Inside linebacker, tight end and cornerback are other priorities general manager Jason Licht and coach Todd Bowles could address on Days 2 and 3 of the draft. Tampa Bay has three of the top 77 selections overall and at least one pick in each of the final six rounds.
The team began an overhaul of the defense this winter after losing linebacker Lavonte David to retirement and not bringing back cornerback Jamel Dean and linebacker Haason Reddick, who became free agents.
Defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad signed a one-year deal with the Bucs in March after having a career-best 11 sacks with the Detroit Lions last season, and the Bucs also landed linebackers Alex Anzalone and Christian Rozeboom in free agency.
A recent published report linked Bain to a fatal traffic collision in 2024. Bain was cited for careless driving at the time of the crash, but the charge was later dropped, according to The Read Optional.
WUSF's Rick Mayer contributed to this report.
