The Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t get to enjoy Rueben Bain Jr. for long in this version of the 2026 NFL Draft story.
In the original draft, Bain was the kind of gift that changes a team’s night. He slipped all the way to No. 15, where Tampa Bay scooped him up despite the fact that he was viewed as one of the class’s premier pass rushers and a player many expected to come off the board inside the top 10.
But in Sports Illustrated’s Justin Melo re-draft, the Bucs lose that luxury. Bain doesn’t make it to Tampa Bay at all. Instead, he winds up with a bitter NFC South rival: the New Orleans Saints.
The Saints’ original first-round choice was Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson at No. 8 overall. Tyson drew plenty of attention as one of the draft’s top receivers, though injury concerns clearly made some teams uneasy about spending premium draft capital on him. In Melo’s do-over, New Orleans takes the safer swing and goes with Bain instead.
"We understand why the New Orleans Saints decided to make the risky pick of wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, who will undoubtedly support Tyler Shough's growth at quarterback if he stays healthy. We're going with a safer route in this scenario, taking pass rusher Rueben Bain Jr. The Saints ended up re-signing Cameron Jordan, but Bain would be a terrific replacement"
Justin Melo, Sports Illustrated
That leaves Tampa Bay looking elsewhere, and the Bucs land on Bain’s Miami teammate, edge rusher Akheem Mesidor. Mesidor was the favorite to be the pick heading into draft day, and The Pewter Plank had Tampa Bay taking him in its final predictive mock draft before Bain’s stunning slide changed the picture.
There’s also a little extra juice to this storyline. Jason Licht made a point during Bain’s introductory press conference to remind him that the Saints passed on him, a not-so-subtle way of feeding the NFC South rivalry right away.
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