As expected, Miami defensive ends Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor came off the board in the first round of this year’s draft. The Buccaneers, owners of the 15th pick, entered Thursday hoping to land one of them, per James Palmer of Bleacher Report. The Bucs got their wish when they chose Bain, but they never expected him to fall that far.
Tampa Bay, which needed another pass rusher to join YaYa Diaby and Al-Quadin Muhammad, is “over the moon” that it came away with Bain, according to Palmer. The Buccaneers fielded phone calls for their pick, but they could not turn down the opportunity to draft the 6-foot-3, 275-pounder.
Widely considered a top-10 prospect going into the draft, Bain’s drop may have had something to do with concerns over his arm length. His arms measured 30 7/8 inches at the Combine, which ranks in the 1st percentile and checks in well below the 33-inch average. He was also the driver in a 2024 car crash that led to the death of one of his passengers. Bain was cited for careless driving, but it reportedly did not affect his draft stock.
It remains to be seen if arm length will prevent Bain from reaching his potential in the NFL, but the Buccaneers will have gotten a steal if he can overcome it. The power rusher posted terrific production at Miami, where he registered 33.5 tackles for loss and 20.5 sacks over three years.
In 2025, his best season as a Hurricane, Bain led the FBS with 83 pressures (via Dane Brugler of The Athletic). Pro Football Focus credited Bain with the most hurries (54) and also gave him an excellent grade against the run (86.2; 12th among edge defenders). After finishing the season with personal highs in tackles for loss (15.5) and sacks (9.5), Bain earned consensus All-America honors, the Ted Hendrickson Award (given to the nation’s top DE) and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year Award.
As for Mesidor, despite leeriness over his age (25) and injury history, he became a pro seven picks after Bain. The Chargers took Mesidor 22nd overall.
Great outcome for them.
Why would killing someone it impact his draft stock? It’s the NFL, par for the course.