“That Is Exactly What Todd Wants”
May 17th, 2026
Rookie edge rusher Rueben Bain.
So a guy tasked with scouting players for a Todd Bowles defense in his pre-Tampa days has spoken out.
Greg Nejmah has seen a lot of wasted talent. The guy worked in the Jets front office for 16 years before leaving after last season. Imagine how sharp and/or likeable Nejmah must have been to survive all those leadership changes.
Filling in for Phil Simms on the Simms Complete podcast, Nejmah talked about the 2026 NFL Draft and the former captain of the Jets ship, Todd Bowles. The Bucs head coach had the same job with the Jets for four seasons (2015-2018).
Nejmah said Bowles found the perfect marriage with Bucs first-round pick Rueben Bain, the beastly Hurricanes edge rusher.
“Obviously, I know Todd Bowles and his defense and what he calls,” Nejmah said. “When I watch Bain, I was like, ‘that is exactly what Todd wants.’ Tough, physical, gritty, relentless, not going to wow you athletically, but his disruption, his power, the ability to play on the edge and like even move him around a little bit, I think, is going to be huge for them.
“And the other thing with Bain, they’re not going to have to take him off the field on first and second down; he can be a three-down guy as long as he picks things up physically early on in his career.”
Co-host Matt Simms, the former NFL quarterback and the brother of ex-Bucs QB Chris Simms, agreed with Nejmah and said “Bain’s super power” is his ability to stop the run, in addition to terrorizing QBs.
Joe likes how Nejmah mentioned how Bain can play the run well “as long as he picks things up physically.”
It’s important to remember Bain is just 21 years old. He’s a powerful dude, but there’s no doubt he’ll add a fair amount of man strength over the next year or two. That will help him become a force against the run.
May 17th, 2026 at 10:22 am
Ton of hype on this guy. However, don’t thinks he minds the pressure. I will also remind people it usually takes a couples years for these guys to really make their mark at the nfl level. Sapp wasn’t even all that his first year. I mean to expect this guy to change an inept defense in his first year may be a little much. I am just being real here. This defense has numerous problems so let’s slow down a little. However, yes, I hope his first year is the exception, who wouldn’t just saying not so fast.
May 17th, 2026 at 10:27 am
Bain is going to be a beast for our Buccos
May 17th, 2026 at 10:40 am
“Not gnna wow you athletically.” And I’m sure YaYa can out bench, out squat, and out run Bain, and you know what…it won’t matter. Bain will be more productive and more disruptive from the moment he steps on the practice field. Look Diaby is an ok, player and all. He’s not Joe Tryon, but to use a basketball analogy…he’s not a number one. But i like Diaby as the number 2 or 3 guy on coming off the edge. He will get more sacks ones teams focus more on the better FOOTBALL PLAYER. Where athletic talent really matters is how high a Bains ceiling is. He’s not going to be an 18 sack Myles Garret kinda guy. But he’ll be a 10-12 sack nasty, enforcer, type bringing some much needed attitude to the defense which is exactly what we need
May 17th, 2026 at 10:42 am
People are going to be talking about how Bowles finally gets it with the improved defense. Conveniently forgetting that it has always been mostly about the players. Give TB players like Shaq, Suh and JPP and all of a sudden you have a remarkable pass rush that makes the coverage look top notch. Got to have them all to make it work. I believe the defense now has a chance to match up with what should be a top notch offense.
May 17th, 2026 at 10:43 am
Hope he can get through training camp injury free. Heard a lot of hype about Walker last year… Too early to jump on the Bain train.
May 17th, 2026 at 10:47 am
Only time will tell. The hype train is full steam till September. Go BUCS!!!!
May 17th, 2026 at 11:05 am
Walker was a huge disappointment after he was hyped with such hyperbole and then got hurt just as the real camp hitting was about to start. It’s not Walker’s fault, but the disappointment remains nonetheless. Still, Walker was a 4th round pick for a reason. Short arms contributed to his fall in the draft. Bain is a first round pick, but I’m pretty sure he only fell to us because of his short arms. Does that matter? Well we have 2 examples to watch this year. For our sake I hope this triggers a new “arms race” in the NFL.
May 17th, 2026 at 11:31 am
[Not sure what to tell you. It’s working perfectly fine for Joe. Both on PC and iPhone. — Joe]
May 17th, 2026 at 11:31 am
Preseason talk is fun, but it will never be more than just that—talk.
Predicting greatness for a rookie who had yet to play a single NFL down is … fun.
The NFL is littered with “can’t miss,” now ex-players who never saw a second contract. It also has its share of “under the radar” guys who come from nowhere and end up being in Canton.
If you can spot a few of these unknowns and correctly predict greatness, or even failure when most think otherwise, then you know your stuff.
Anyone can latch themselves onto a college media darling and claim, “I told you so” when they make it in the NFL.
Tell me something I don’t know …
Show me prognosticator greatness!
Me? I gave up on such endeavors after thinking Kyle Trask and Ronald Jones would be success stories.
May 17th, 2026 at 11:34 am
TBBF I’ve been saying the same thing over and over.
May 17th, 2026 at 11:37 am
Fred I believe Bain dell more due to what other teams wanted and/or how they rated their boards. Not saying you’re wrong, could have had a hand in his drop, glad it was to us. None of us thought he’d be there.
Yeah shame about Walker but say he comes in healthy and stays that way and plays like the team thinks he can? That could really turn this defense around in a hurry.
May 17th, 2026 at 12:08 pm
If Kancey at 100, Walker at 100, Bain and Diaby at 100 the whole season and no injuries on D line and O line….we’re 9 wins. Lots of ifs there…and Walker is basically still a rook.
May 17th, 2026 at 12:43 pm
I love it, just the competition alone along the front with the additions of Bain, Walker and Muhammad (another Cane), that lets even Diby know, nothing should be given, especially with Bowles being willing to blitz nickel, safety and the Mike.
May 17th, 2026 at 1:19 pm
I cringe when I read Todd can move him around. Please, we have plenty of DTs. Put him on the edge, leave him on the edge. Don’t screw this up Todd.
May 17th, 2026 at 1:42 pm
We’re at more than 9 wins if everyone stays healthy. More like 11-12. That’s a BIG IF though. We’ve been having terrible luck with injuries since the 2021 Super Bowl we were almost completely healthy during play. I sincerely hope that luck comes back!
May 17th, 2026 at 2:01 pm
He’s exactly what the fans want too!
À guy who serious Ànd doesn’t care about “having fun.”
I think we have all seen that the Brady way is better than the “fun way.”
Bain is like Brady. He is a psycho killah who wants to win!
I hope we never talk about “fun” again.
Let’s talk about “swarming” and “violence.”
Let’s kill “the fun” talk forever!