Rueben Bain's fall in the first round on Thursday turned into a blessing for Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles, who's excited to add a "do it all" pass rusher to his attacking defense.
"It's his physical style of play -- from a mental standpoint and a physical standpoint," Bowles told reporters on Friday, via team transcript. "Pass rushers come in different ways and different types and different sizes. Some are power, some are speed, some have an arsenal, some can bend, some can't. He can do it all. He can do it all and he shows that up and down the line of scrimmage. He plays with a mentality -- a no-losing mentality -- at all times. He fights and he plays with the right kind of attitude and mentality that we're trying to bring to this team."
Bain entered the draft projected as a top 10 pick. The Miami product instead saw a slide after fellow pass rushers David Bailey (No. 2, Jets) and Arvell Reese (No. 5, Giants) were selected ahead of him.
The Buccaneers, sitting at No. 15 overall, weren't expecting such a situation entering the draft.
"I'd be lying if I said yesterday that (head coach) Todd (Bowles) and I were going in the draft thinking that there would be a good chance of getting Rueben," Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said. "A lot of times we say surprises suck, but this surprise did not suck. ... Just very, very excited to have [him]."
Bain has been one of the more disruptive pass rushers in college football, producing 20.5 sacks, 33.5 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles the past three years with the Hurricanes. Pre-draft questions about Bain, most notably the length of his arms, perhaps led to his first-round slide, but that's something the Buccaneers aren't concerned about.
"It was really a no-brainer, and he fit everything we're trying to do and get back to from a mental physicality standpoint," Bowles said. "His play shows that, and it was an easy decision."
Catching Bain's fall was a huge blessing for the Bucs, not only nabbing a prospect they felt was the best player available but fulfilling a huge need at the edge position.
"It's beneficial that we addressed it with him," Bowles said. "There's a bunch of edge rushers in this draft. Not many can play like he plays, and play with the attitude he plays with, and the heavy hands he plays with, and fits the scheme that we play with, as well as the people that [are] down there with him that he's going to be working with."
As for Bain, the fall to Tampa Bay created an emotional draft night for the 21-year-old, who held back tears on the draft stage. However, sliding out of the top 10 isn't something that will fuel him going forward -- he's already motivated to prove he's the best defender in the draft.
"I feel like it won't change anything," Bain said during his introductory news conference on Friday. "My motivation is myself. I always want to be the best player on the field no matter what. No outside factor is going to kind of weigh into that. I'm going to play the game just as if I was playing anybody else -- that's with all my effort. When you see that, people are going to see the kind of player I am."
