There is no team in football more annoying to the Atlanta Falcons than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints are up there, but they have been bottom-feeders ever since Drew Brees retired. The Bucs have consistently been the best team in the division lately, and it feels like they're always competitive.
Not only are the fans insufferable, so is Baker Mayfield. But the worst part is that Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht is one of the best GMs in the NFL. It feels like every year in the NFL Draft the Buccaneers come away with an elite talent at tremendous value, and the 2026 Draft was no different.
This past weekend was the latest example of Licht's mastery, but he didn't even have to do anything out of the ordinary. The Bucs just got to watch as Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. fell into their lap with the 15th overall pick. A blue chip talent who fell into their laps at 15. That's just the Falcons' luck.
Rueben Bain Jr. sounds like a player built to terrorize the Falcons
The worst part about the weekend is the entire NFC South had great draft classes, but Tampa Bay's was arguably the best in the division. Bain was a top-10, potentially even top-five talent who fell because of off-field issues and his short arm length, but you can't deny the talent. He's more like Bane the Batman villain in terms of the chaos he creates.
The 21-year-old will start his NFL career in the perfect situation. He'll share the defensive line with Vita Vea, YaYa Diaby, Callijah Kancey, A'Shawn Robinson, and Al-Quadin Muhammad. That is a loaded pass-rush room, and one that will allow the consensus All-American to make an immediate impact.
Shaq Barrett. Haason Reddick. Jason Pierre-Paul. Lavonte David. The Dirty Birds have fallen victim to several elite Bucs' pass-rushers over the years, and Bain is going to be the latest one. The reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year logged 9.5 sacks and 15.5 TFLs for the Hurricanes. That's no fluke.
Bain's arms may be shorter than 31", but they were measured to be longer than we believe by multiple teams at the Miami Pro Day, And even if his arms are on the shorter side, at 6-foot-3 and 275 pounds, he has the size, the explosiveness, the quickness, and the pass-rush arsenal to become an NFL star.
The Ted Hendricks Award winner was one of the best value picks at Pick 15, especially given the question marks on this Atlanta offensive line. Watching Bain end up with the Saints would've been scary, but since this Bucs roster is more talented, him landing in Tampa Bay is worse for the Falcons' hopes of winning the NFC South.
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