The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came into the offseason knowing they needed a spark on defense—and they might have found it in Rueben Bain Jr.

Drafted No. 15 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, Bain was one of the top pass-rushing prospects available, and his surprising fall to the middle of the first round felt like a gift for head coach Todd Bowles. Now, as the summer winds down, analysts are starting to pencil in what his rookie season could look like.

According to Sports Illustrated's Eva Geitheim, Bain is projected to notch 7 sacks, a forced fumble, and 50 total tackles in his first year. That kind of production would be a major boost for a Buccaneers defense that struggled to generate consistent pressure in 2024.

"Bain notched 9.5 sacks in his final season at Miami, and should help improve Tampa's edge rush as he reaches the NFL," Geitheim wrote.

For context, that 9.5-sack campaign at Miami made him one of the most disruptive defenders in the ACC. And while projecting any rookie's stats is a guessing game, Bain's combination of power, technique, and motor makes him a strong candidate to hit the ground running.

The Buccaneers need more than just a solid contributor, though. After falling short of expectations last season, the team is counting on Bain to be a force multiplier—someone who can collapse pockets, force quarterbacks into mistakes, and take pressure off the secondary. He won't have to do it alone, but the defense will go as he goes.

On the other side of the ball, Tampa's offense will also need to step up. But for a team that's been searching for an edge rusher who can change games, Bain looks like the answer. Whether he becomes "the guy" for Bowles remains to be seen, but the early projections suggest he's ready to make an impact from Day 1.