The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have spent a lot of time this offseason trying to get more out of their defensive front, and Baker Mayfield sounds pretty confident that first-round pick Rueben Bain Jr. is going to be a big part of it.
Sports Illustrated’s James Hill highlighted Mayfield’s appearance on the “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast, where the Bucs quarterback was asked about some of the new pieces Tampa Bay added up front. When Bain’s name came up, Mayfield didn’t hold back.
“I think Bain, first and foremost, is going to be a monster.”
That’s a strong endorsement for a rookie who barely got on the field during the preseason. Bain played just six defensive snaps against Kansas City before an AC joint sprain ended his preseason, so there really
hasn’t been much of an NFL sample yet. Still, the Bucs clearly believe in what they have with the No. 15 overall pick, and Mayfield sounds like he’s already seen enough in practice to buy in.
Mayfield also pointed to the rest of Tampa Bay’s front seven as a reason for optimism. He mentioned David Walker’s explosiveness coming back from a torn ACL, along with Yaya Diaby and Al-Quadin Muhammad off the edge. He also expects Elijah Roberts to take another step and offered a simple way to describe Calijah Kancey.
“Calijah Kancey is a freak.”
Tampa Bay has been looking for more consistent pressure up front, and the group Mayfield talked about gives the Bucs a lot more options than they had before. Bain is still the biggest unknown because of how little preseason work he got, but if Mayfield’s prediction is anywhere close, the rookie could become one of the more important additions to the defense pretty quickly.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Baker Mayfield has monster prediction for Bucs rookie Rueben Bain Jr.
