Pewter Report’s PR Roundtable
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A new Pewter Report Roundtable column on the Bucs debuts every Tuesday on PewterReport.com. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough Bucs question. This week’s prompt: Who was your favorite 2026 Bucs draft pick?

Scott Reynolds: Rueben Bain Shakes Things Up For Todd Bowles’ Defense

The Bucs have made a concerted effort to get bigger and nastier on defense this offseason. Tampa Bay signed two role players on defense this offseason who fit that criteria in defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson and outside linebacker Al-Quadin Muhammad. But both are 31 and only signed one-year deals. The hope was that their ass-kicking mentality would ignite Todd Bowles defense and then spread like wildfire across the unit from player to player to make it play with more of a nasty edge long past Robinson’s and Muhammad’s eventual departure.

Bucs OLB Rueben Bain Jr. – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Kim Klement

But when Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr., who is a top 5 talent, slid out of the top 10 and down to No. 15, Tampa Bay didn’t hesitate to draft him. At 6-foot-2, 263 pounds, he’s 23 pounds bigger than last year’s starter, Haason Reddick. And he’s a mean dude on the football field, who plays with the kind of edge that Tampa Bay is looking for.

The good news is that Bain is only 21 years old, and if he’s as good as expected, he’ll be in Tampa Bay for at least the next five years. So the nasty wildfire that is going to be lit on defense this year shouldn’t go out anytime soon with Bain on the roster.

As I mentioned in my latest Pewter Pulse video on Bain, his selection is not just a game-changer for Bowles’ defense, which added an absolute stud run defender and a dangerous pass rusher. He’s also a vibe-changer in Tampa Bay. The Bucs fan base has been feeling low this offseason after watching the team finish 8-9 after a 6-2 start, lose the division title to the Panthers, watch icon wide receiver Mike Evans leave the franchise for the 49ers and then witness legendary linebacker Lavonte David retire.

All of a sudden, the Bucs – and their fans – got an unexpected win in the NFL Draft with the selection of Bain, who had 9.5 sacks last year and was a unanimously popular pick. Now a renewed sense of optimism has permeated the fan base and vibes are suddenly high about Tampa Bay turning the ship around this season and sailing towards winning waters. Plus Bain addresses – and upgrades – one of the team’s biggest weaknesses, which is the pass rush.

Matt Matera: Keionte Scott Is “Tailor Made” For Bucs Defense

When Bucs head coach Todd Bowles was on the phone with Keionte Scott to congratulate him on getting drafted to Tampa Bay, Bowles told Scott that this defense is tailor made for him and that he’s a perfect fit. That says a lot, but it’s Scott’s playing style that makes him such an intriguing pick in the fourth round.

It’s going to be so exciting watching Scott constantly blitz and make big hits in this defense. He’ll likely play in the slot or in some kind of variance of the secondary depending on what Bowles wants to do. Scott is incredibly fast, running a 4.3 in the 40-yard dash, and knows how to time up his blitzes well. That’s exactly what Bowles likes to do in this defense on a regular basis.

Miami DB Keionte Scott – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Jerome Miron

The fact that Scott is fast, is a good tackler and a playmaker – he had two pick-sixes last year at Miami – makes this an incredible pick by the Buccaneers. Many draft analysts had a third-round grade on Scott. It also gives the Bucs some versatility in the secondary at nickel and safety, letting him run free and contribute to a defense that needs players of his caliber.

Adam Slivon: Rueben Bain Jr. Brings Immediate Upside To Bucs Pass Rush

This is the obvious pick, right? That is exactly how the Bucs’ front office must have felt when Rueben Bain Jr. was still on the board. Regarded as a top 10 player, Bain slipped to No. 15 as teams before Tampa Bay loaded up on the offensive line. That allowed them to land of the best pass rushers coming out of college, which was desperately needed with how last season played out.

Tampa Bay recording 37 sacks across a 17-game season just does not cut it, especially with how the defense sells out to send pressure in a variety of ways. Suddenly, adding the talented Miami edge rusher brings upside, and dare I say optimism, to the Bucs pass rush.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles and OLB Rueben Bain Jr. – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

With a duo of Yaya Diaby and Bain, that is a solid one-two punch in 2026 and for years to come. In the short-term, having Al-Quadin Muhammad, David Walker, and Anthony Nelson behind them gives Todd Bowles enough horses in the stable to trust that whoever is in the game should be productive in getting after and bringing down opposing quarterbacks.

Bain was not only a tremendous value pick, but more importantly, he is a schematic fit and well-rounded player. In addition to his pass-rushing ability (9.5 sacks in 2025), he is a stout run defender. That gives him immediate three-down potential, and being just 21 years old gives him a sky-high ceiling.

For a Bucs defense that needed to get tougher and add attitude, there is a lot to like about what Bain brings. It is easy to argue he was one of the best players Tampa Bay could have added, regardless of draft position. The fact they found someone in the middle of the first round who fits right in and checks all the boxes they were looking for will energize the rest of the unit.

Welcome to Tampa Bain.

Bailey Adams: Ted Hurst Is Exactly What The Bucs Needed At WR

Ted Hurst first caught my eye at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, which I think was the case for many. The Georgia State star turned heads throughout the week, but especially with this one-handed contested catch for a touchdown over a fellow third-round pick in Arkansas-turned-Seahawks cornerback Julian Neal.

Hurst’s speed, catch radius/ability to high-point the football and impressive measurables were on display in Mobile, and he was a big riser. He was one of the winners of the week. And then… I kind of forgot about him. He popped back up at the NFL Scouting Combine, but then as we went about our draft prep, I spent a lot of time thinking/writing about outside linebackers, inside linebackers and some guys in the trenches. Then Pewter Report had Hurst as its Bucs Best Bet at wide receiver and he was back on my radar again.

And once Bucs drafted him in the third round, it hit me. Of course Ted Hurst was a great fit for Tampa Bay. No, he’s not Mike Evans. No one is. But with Evans’ departure, the one missing piece in the remaining wide receiver room — which was still full of talent — was a true “X” receiver. The Bucs were missing a quick, big-bodied deep threat. Enter Hurst.

Georgia State WR Ted Hurst – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Vasha Hunt

With the way the board fell in the third round, there wasn’t really an obvious position to draft. There wasn’t even necessarily an obvious player at that point. And that’s why I loved the fact that the Bucs went with Hurst. He’s a small-school guy who isn’t a finished product. But his production is spectacular. His traits are impressive. He’s what the wide receiver room — and offense — needed in order to be truly complete.

And as Greg Auman pointed out, the last time the Bucs drafted a wide receiver with pick No. 84, it worked out pretty well.

Josh Queipo:

The Bucs lost their dominant ‘X’ receiver (split end) earlier this offseason when Mike Evans decided to go Super Bowl hunting in San Francisco like it was 1849. Tampa Bay has a very talented receiver room with Chris Godwin Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Jalen McMillan and Tez Johnson, but all of those receivers are 6-foot-1 except for the 5-10 Johnson. And none of those options can fill that X role effectively. Last year Egbuka made a valiant effort, but the best version of ‘Mek is as a Z (flanker) or F (slot).

Georgia State WR Ted Hurst Photo by: IMAGN Images – David Butler II

Not only did the Buccaneers find someone who can fill that role with size, speed and the ability to stretch defenses vertically, but they did so after trading back in the third round. That’s a coup. Some analysts believe if Hurst had taken an NIL deal to move to a Power-4 team in 2025 he would have been a first-round talent in this year’s draft. Well, I am here to tell you that the talent didn’t change. There are only questions about the competition, and he proved at the Senior Bowl that he could win against P4 defensive backs.

First-round pick Rueben Bain Jr. was an excellent selection because he went 5-10 spots after where his talent dictated he should have gone. Hurst went about 50 picks past his talent after a trade back in the third round! That matches talent, need and value – all in one package. Can’t do much better than that, Tampa Bay.