TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Miami edge rusher Reuben Bain Jr. with the 15th pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night, addressing a need to bolster a leaky defense that wasn't as reliable as usual last season.
Bain helped Miami to an appearance in the College Football Playoff national championship game in January and remained a top draft prospect, even after published reports linked him to a traffic collision in 2024 that resulted
in the death of a passenger. Bain was cited for careless driving at the time of the crash, but the charge was later dropped, according to The Read Optional.
The Bucs went 8-9 last season, losing seven of nine games following a 6-2 start to end a string of five consecutive playoff appearances that included a Tom Brady-led Super Bowl run during the 2020 season. The lack of a consistent pass rush was one of the biggest problems on defense.
Inside linebacker, tight end and cornerback are other priorities general manager Jason Licht and coach Todd Bowles could address during the three-day draft. Barring trades, Tampa Bay has three of the top 77 selections overall and at least one pick in each of the final six rounds.
The team began an overhaul of the defense this winter after losing linebacker Lavonte David to retirement and not bringing back cornerback Jamel Dean and linebacker Haason Reddick, who became free agents. Defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad signed a one-year deal with the Bucs in March after having a career-best 11 sacks with the Detroit Lions last season, and the Bucs also landed linebackers Alex Anzalone and Christian Rozeboom in free agency.
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