The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Rueben Bain Jr. in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft in hopes he’ll become the impact pass rusher the Bucs’ defense has been sorely missing.
The inability to generate pressure off the edge in recent seasons has led to an over-reliance on the blitz, which has made the defense vulnerable against opposing passing attacks.
Bain has drawn rave reviews from coaches and teammates since setting foot in Tampa Bay, and if he lives up to the sky-high expectations surrounding him, he could be a truly transformative addition for Todd Bowles’ defensive unit.
Rondé Barber, one of the greatest defensive players in franchise history, has already given Bain his endorsement and made a bold prediction ahead of the rookie’s first NFL season.
Rondé Barber predicts Buccaneers rookie Rueben Bain will record double-digit sacks
Speaking on his self-titled Rondé Barber Show, Barber predicted that Bain will reach 10 sacks — not in his full rookie season, but in only 13 games.
“[Bain] will probably get 10 sacks in, I’m going to give him 13 weeks,” Barber said. “This dude is a violent-like man killer, and a hat-snatcher. I see a 10-sack season.”
If Barber’s prediction comes true, the organization will be doing backflips over their first-round draft choice.
A rookie season of that caliber would likely elevate Tampa Bay to one of the NFL’s best defenses, and make Bain the frontrunner in Defensive Rookie of the Year conversations.
But while it’s fun to dream, those are some truly lofty expectations placed on a rookie by the Hall of Famer. It would also make him quite the outlier in recent Bucs history.
Tampa Bay hasn’t had a player record double-digit sacks since 2021, when Shaq Barrett recorded 10.
But as Ira Kaufman of JoeBucsFan pointed out, the last time players actually drafted by Tampa Bay recorded double-digit sacks was all the way back in the year 2000 with Warren Sapp (16.5) and Marcus Jones (13).
The Bucs have tried, and failed, to draft impact pass rushers with premium picks, but it simply hasn’t panned out. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Chris Braswell come to mind as some of Tampa Bay’s most recent busts.
Bain certainly has the talent and mentality to buck — or Buc, if you will — that trend. He led all of college football with 83 pressures last season, which tied for the most ever in the PFF College era dating back to 2014.
The Bucs don’t necessarily need Bain to make good on Barber’s 10-sack prediction for his rookie season to be deemed a success.
Jared Verse was named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2024 with 4.5 sacks, and Will Anderson won the award with 7.0 sacks in 2023. Chase Young earned the honor in 2020 with 7.5 sacks.
Only six rookies have recorded double-digit sacks in the last decade, and only nine have recorded at least nine sacks, showing just how difficult it is for rookie pass rushers to reach that mark.
Sacks would be a welcome bonus, but if Bain can consistently generate pressure off the edge and create chaos for opposing offenses like he did in college, he'll provide exactly the spark that the Bucs’ defense has been missing.
Tampa Bay has long been searching for a game-changing pass rusher, and Bain has all the makings of the disruptor they’ve been waiting for.
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