Bucs First Round Pick Rueben Bain Jr. Relies on Relentless Mentality to Prove Doubters Wrong

Rueben Bain Jr. confident in what makes him one of the best at his position.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers OLB Rueben Bain Jr. | Miami Hurricanes X

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were thought of as a team that would be looking to trade back in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft with the 15th overall pick, but they were fortunate enough for the board to fall the way it did to land one of the draft's best pass rushers.

With the Dallas Cowboys trading up to the 11th spot and taking Caleb Downs and the Los Angeles Rams taking quarterback Ty Simpson at 13 in a surprise move, the Miami Hurricanes' Rueben Bain Jr. was able to fall right into the laps of Jason Licht and Todd Bowles.

The Bucs' war room was ecstatic about being able to land Bain Jr., who "slid" slightly in the draft. When walking up to the draft podium, it was evident that Bain Jr. felt slighted by the teams that passed on him, and when speaking with ESPN's Laura Rutledge after being drafted, Bain's emotions could be felt while describing how he will prove the doubters wrong.

All About Mentality

"It's my mentality, it's what I can do. That's how I think about myself. I know I'm the best in the country, I'm going to show it," Bain exclaimed. "My mentality, I'm telling you, I can do anything I put my mind to because of my mindset. I know when I get to this next level, it's on and poppin'."

Miami Hurricanes defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. is selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

A lot of the talk surrounding Bain leading up to the NFL Draft surrounded his historically short arm length at the edge position and some off-field situations that have since been put to rest.

Bain clearly is very confident in his abilities and the fact that he is the best player in this draft. With him "falling" to 15 to the Bucs, it's evident that he will bring the same mentality we saw from him at Miami — where he was mentored by Hall of Fame defensive end Jason Taylor — to Tampa, with an added chip on his shoulder following his slide.

While his arm length can be seen as a concern, it's rare to find an occasion in Bain's film where he isn't able to get into much longer offensive linemen to beat them to the point of attack and ultimately win the rep. His explosiveness, power, elite bend and powerful hands are the intangibles you love to see from Bain's position, but above all that is his ability to not come off the field while continuing to play with a passion and motor that not many players have.

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