Rueben Bain Jr. Goes to Buccaneers

By Matt Schauf | Updated on Fri, Apr 24 2026 1:46 AM UTC

The Buccaneers spent the 15th pick of the draft on Miami Edge Rueben Bain Jr. Bain delivered right away, tallying 7.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss as a freshman. He totaled 20.5 sacks and 33.5 tackles for loss for his career.

What They're Saying

Shane Hallam, DS film guru: "The film is excellent: He's a tenacious pass rusher with a variety of moves who pressures the QB consistently and still has room to grow."

2026 Fantasy Football Impact

There's no question about Bain's production or talent. He'd likely have gone earlier in the draft if he weren't historically small for the position.

Bain combines first-percentile arm length with 10th-percentile wingspan and 16th-percentile height, compared with all edge prospects at the Combine since 1999.

That adds downside risk to his profile.

We'll see about the expected rookie-year playing time, but there should be opportunity in a Bucs defense light on pass rushing.

Don't expect to find Bain high in our 2026 IDP rankings.

Dynasty Impact

Bain looks more interesting over the longer term, but he certainly presents downside risk there as well.

The new Buc makes plenty of sense as the third edge in rookie drafts behind David Bailey and Arvell Reese, the guys who preceded him at the position in the NFL Draft.

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.