Buccaneers rookie Rueben Bain Jr. is looking like a star in the making vs. Jets

Rueben Bain Jr. has put together an impressive first offseason after being selected No. 15 overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Bain has consistently stood out throughout training camp, and he finally got his first real test against outside competition as the Buccaneers faced the New York Jets in joint practice this week.

The first-round lived up to the hype, putting together a dominant performance against the Jets and giving Bucs fans even more reason to be excited about his rookie season. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie Rueben Bain Jr. dominates New York Jets at joint practice 

One of the most intriguing storylines for Tampa Bay heading into joint practice was how Bain would perform against the Jets’ offensive tackle duo of Armand Membou and Olu Fashanu. Both are former first-round picks who could provide some worthy competition and give Bain a chance to see how he measures up against NFL-caliber talent. 

Bain primarily faced off against Membou during Wednesday’s practice, and he made his life miserable.

Connor Hughes, who covers the Jets for SNY, took note of Bain’s impressive practice:

“Rueben Bain is having quite the practice vs Armand Membou. Have him for two sacks and quite a bit of pressure. Membou struggling with him.”

That’s exactly the kind of performance Tampa Bay hoped to see from its prized rookie. 

Bucs fans won’t be surprised to hear that Bain is dominating against quality competition. He’s been giving Tampa Bay’s starting right tackle Luke Goedeke trouble throughout training camp as well. 

Head coach Todd Bowles has clearly already seen enough from Bain, telling reporters that the rookie won’t play much, if at all, during Friday night’s preseason opener. The team posted their first unofficial depth chart for the preseason, and to nobody’s surprise, Bain is already listed as the starting outside linebacker opposite Yaya Diaby. 

Tampa Bay hasn’t had a game-wrecking pass rusher in several years. The team hasn’t had a player record double-digit sacks since Shaq Barrett in 2021. 

That’s why the Buccaneers were chomping at the bit to draft Bain with their first-round draft choice. His 83 QB pressures last season at Miami tied the all-time record in the PFF College era. He recorded 20.5 sacks and 33.5 tackles for loss through three college seasons. 

It’s still early, and he’s yet to take a regular-season snap, but Bain looks like he can become the game-changing pass rusher that the Buccaneers have been waiting for.

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