The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have used the offseason to retool the roster, and one of their biggest additions came via the 2026 NFL draft. With the 15th overall pick, the Bucs took Rueben Bain Jr.

With a clear need to bolster the edge room, the Bucs felt lucky to have Bain Jr. fall to them. While he made some positive impressions during the spring, things will turn up a notch during training camp. Pads will come on, and for defensive linemen, this is where they can really be evaluated.

If Bain Jr. can consistently get past Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke to get into the backfield, that would be a great sign for the Bucs. And it would give everyone confidence that Bain Jr. is poised to make an impact from day 1.

Rueben Bain passing this training camp test would be huge for Bucs

The combo of Wirfs and Goedeke is rock solid for the Bucs. Goedeke is a smooth pass blocker who hasn’t given up a lot of pressure. Over the last two seasons, he has allowed 39 total pressures and three sacks.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Wirfs has been a three-time All-Pro and is one of the top tackles in the NFL. No matter on what side that Bain is rushing the passer, he’ll need to put up his best slate of moves to get past them. Coming into the league, the biggest critique of Bain is his short arms. Many people believe that will be an issue for him, but if he comes out and can constantly get past Wirfs or Goedeke, it will show he’s more than capable of doing that against most tackles.

During his collegiate career with Miami, he had 33.5 TFLs, 20.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles. He has strong hands and uses his power for leverage. With the Hurricanes, Bain showed an array of pass rush moves but was also stout against the run. If these strengths continue to show during camp, the Bucs would be in for a treat.

They badly need more from the pass rush. Tampa Bay was tied for 26th in team sacks (37), as Yaya Diaby led the team in sacks with seven. They want more from that group, and if Bain can hit the ground running, it will give them a huge lift.

Bain was one of the best players in college football last year, and the discourse around his arm length pushed him down the board. Tampa Bay clearly doesn’t care about that, and if he can hold his own in camp against Wirfs and Goedeke, everyone will feel fantastic about him entering the 2026 campaign.

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