The Bucs made an exceptional first-round pick by selecting Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. at No. 15 overall. It was a shock to many that he fell that far in the 2026 NFL draft, but the Bucs became the beneficiary of his slide.

Bain was considered a top three edge rusher in this year’s draft class. and depending on who you ask, he could have been the top one. There was the thought he could’ve gone 10th overall when the Bengals had that pick, but they traded that selection away days before to the Giants for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, and New York is set at the edge rusher position.

It feels like Bain can be a game-changer for Tampa Bay, which is desperately trying to find a premiere, dominant edge rusher. He’s a big-time player that brings an immediate upgrade in the Bucs outside linebacker room. Bain was a consensus All-American, ACC Player Of The Year and first team All-ACC in a season where he recorded 9.5 sacks, 15.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble and also had an interception.

Bucs edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. – Photo courtesy of: The University of Miami – Mikayla Oliveira

He didn’t do it alone at Miami though. Bain had NFL Hall of Fame edge rusher Jason Taylor coaching him up the whole time, gaining valuable lessons from it. Taylor played 15 years in the NFL, predominantly with the Miami Dolphins, while also spending a season each with the Redskins and Jets. He is seventh all-time on the NFL’s sack list with 139.5 sacks and was a three-time first team All-Pro.

Following the end of his playing career, Taylor has been with Miami as a coach since 2022, first as a defensive analyst and currently as the defensive ends and rush coach. Given Taylor’s ties to the Miami community and his expertise, plus the traits that Bain has, there was nobody better that Bain could work with in his college career. Bain gave Taylor a ton of praise when speaking with media virtually following his selection by Tampa Bay.

Rueben Bain Jr. And The Bucs Credit Jason Taylor For Bain’s Development

“I felt like I got the best coach I could possibly get these last three years,” Rueben Bain Jr. said. “I mean, it’s a Hall of Fame coach. I didn’t really realize until I look back on it or until I hear somebody else talking about it. It’s just an amazing opportunity, and I was blessed enough to get that style of play, that style of coaching for the last three years. Not too many people can say they had one position coach all their whole college career, and my coach was a Hall of Famer. So, there’s even more cherries on top.”

Miami defensive end coach Jason Taylor – Photo by: Mark J. Rebilas

Bucs general manager Jason Licht was absolutely elated when walking up to his press conference following the Bain pick to talk about how he excited he was that he’s now a Buccaneer. Licht spoke about the importance of the relationship that coaches on the staff have with Taylor that helped factor into the pick that they had made.

“You love to be able to draft players that come from great programs and have been coached very well,” Licht said. “I know our coaches have a very good relationship – a lot of our coaches do – with Jason, and we’ve been talking. We obviously talked with him, like we do [with] all prospects and their coaches, but to draft a player that’s come a program like that that’s [an] excellent program to say the least, it just makes the process a little bit easier. We had a little bit more faith in the development of the player.”

Jason Taylor Gives A Rave Review Of Rueben Bain Jr.

Jason Taylor understands the demands of what it takes to be great at the highest level of football and he believes that Rueben Bain Jr. has all the traits to do so. Speaking with CBS Sports at Miami’s Pro-Day, Taylor thinks the world of Bain for his overall approach to the game.

“You see Bain, he’s built like a fire hydrant or like a Volkswagen,” Taylor said. “He’s got dense muscle mass, can bend  very well, he’s very, very flexible for a man his size, especially with his lower half. Great inflection in his ankles, very, very powerful, strong. He came from a good high school program, obviously came through here for the last three years and has furthered his strength, inflection, his flexibility.

Bucs edge Rueben Bain Jr. – Photo by: Jared Lennon – The University of Miami

“And the number one thing, I’m going to always refer back to with these guys (Bain and Akheem Mesidor) is they love football. If you love ball you’re going to do whatever you need to do to be great. If you don’t love ball but you like what ball gives you, it’s going to be hit or miss. Some guys get money because they love what ball does to them and they turn into different people, Bain’s never been that person. He’s always been 10 toes down, the hardest worker, violent, he’s not just physical, he’s violent.”