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They said the Rams should have drafted him over Ty Simpson, but he hasn’t looked the part

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ decision to pass on Rueben Bain Jr. in the 2025 NFL Draft appears fully justified after a dismal start to his rookie season.

Through five weeks, Bain has logged just 76 snaps across three games, recording a single tackle, zero sacks, zero quarterback hits, and only two pressures—despite playing in the Bucs’ lone win of the year. His performance metrics paint a bleak picture: a 38.7 PFF grade (ranked 110th among edge rushers), a 7–10% pressure rate, and an average time to pressure of 3.35 seconds, the 29th-longest among qualified defenders.

Even his lone run tackle came in Week 4 against the Dallas Cowboys, a team the Bucs defeated in a rare bright spot this season. The narrative that the Los Angeles Rams should have selected Bain over Ty Simpson at pick 13 has crumbled, as Simpson remains inactive while Bain fails to impact games meaningfully.

Meanwhile, other draft targets like Makai Lemon and Kenyon Sadiq have shown flashes of potential, with Sadiq’s recent struggles notwithstanding.

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