Will Bain have a chip on his shoulder after draft?

Chris Simms and Mike Florio discuss Rueben Bain Jr. sliding to No. 15 in the 2026 NFL Draft and analyze the former Miami edge rusher's mentality as he enters his rookie season.

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You know, we put a lot of work into all of our draft, the players that we're looking at.

It starts a long time ago.

I mean, it's hard not to see this guy on the field when you're watching him, even as a young Because, you know, the first time he played there.

So, goes way back, but I'd be lying if I said yesterday that Todd and I were going in the draft thinking that there would be a, a, a good chance of getting Reuben.

So, you know, a lot of times we say surprises suck, but this surprise did not suck.

Oh, that surprise sucked for Reuben Bain, because with each spot you lose significant dollars under the rookie wage scale that pays number one north of 50 million on a long-term deal, and you fall to 15, you're making a lot less.

I don't have the scale in front of me, but just trust me, it's a lot less.

13 to 14, 14 to 15, it's a lot less.

But it may be a better position for Reuben Bain Jr. over the long haul.

And I still love how he walked right by the mirror, mirror on the wall.

Everybody else is putting their hat on, they're having their fun.

He's just like, "Give me this damn hat and let me get out of here."

He was all business.

And I think he's gonna be all business.

Yeah.

You know, you hear people knock your abilities based upon arm length, and then the report that came out about the incident he was involved in.

And I'm not excusing it, and I don't understand why it was a secret for as long as it was, and I think plenty of people who earn their living serving an audience relevant news and information about the NFL failed to do so.

For whatever reason, they failed to do so.

But there's enough there for him to be salty and for him to be pissed and for him to channel that into the best possible version of himself that he can going forward.

Yeah.

well, and I think he's actually naturally like that.

So that's where it's like it's a double whammy where you go, uh-oh, watch out, this guy with a chip on his shoulder.

He's, he was the most old school guy in the draft.

And you know, even, you know, you hear about, "Hey, what number you want?"

"I don't give a damn what number I want.

I just I'm gonna play football."

I mean, yeah, he, he's that way.

He's a throwback.

You couldn't go through the draft and not talk to people and hear, "Oh my God, I love Reuben Bain.

I love Reuben Bain."

The arms thing, yeah, it's a question.

Hey, there, there's real tangible evidence that once you kind of go, you know, below 32 and a half and get down to those numbers, that, yeah, the, it's, it's few and far between as far as pass rushers that are successful here.

But I think what Jason Licht saw and what I saw, and I think other, a lot of other people in the NFL saw, is you just go, wait, there's too many other elite things about the guy's game.

His power's elite, his bend's elite.

His first step and speed is deceiving, 'cause he's got these big, long, thick legs and the long strides.

But he, it's, it's covering more ground than you think.

And Mike, he's just one of those, like, you know, we always joke about guys on the 49ers who just, you know, it's like run through the wall, and they, they're already running, you know?

And he's like that.

The phrase I used a lot in the draft process was he will jump in front of the train, and that's to me what I want.

And what I mean by that is he'll be taking on a guy and in some weird position, and he can't get off, and here comes a 220-pound running back running full speed, and he'll just jump out in front of him and be like, "Okay, you know, you're going down.

I'm gonna get hit hard, but you're going down right here.

I've had enough."

I love him, and I think the, him being in a good spot outweighs being in a bad spot a few picks down, and I'm happy the Bucs got him there at, at 15.

Like the hockey player that throws his body in front of a slap shot.

It's unreal what he does.

He, it really is.

You, there's some plays, his physicality, that's what I loved about both the Miami guys.

You know, one, they've been taught a little because of Jason Taylor.

But they've been taught more than anything, pedal to the metal, play as hard as possible.

And he's awesome in the run game.

He has a chance to be an elite pass rusher.

This is a team that needed this type of guy.

And yeah, I was You were sitting there just like the rest of the people, going, "I," you know.

Really anywhere from seven on, you were kind of like, "This could be Reuben Bain, this could be Reuben Bain."

Somewhere in that area.

but regardless, yeah, he stays on the board a little longer than he probably wanted to, but he's in a good spot in Tampa in a year where Todd Bowles and that defense gotta be better, and they're gonna be desperate to be better down there.

They gotta be better or they're gonna be gone- Exactly after this year.

Yeah.

It was a co- a conversation after the way things fell apart last year, and I think everybody's gonna be under a little more pressure this year in Tampa Bay after they saw their streak of five straight playoff appearances come to an end when it should not have done that.

Here's Reuben Bain directly on whether he finds extra motivation in the fact that he slid to the middle of round one.

To be from Miami, to have starred at Miami, to have the Dolphins make another pick, how much will that motivate you?

I mean, I feel like it won't change anything.

my motivation is myself.

I always wanted to be the best player on the field, no matter what.

no outside factor's gonna kind of weigh into that, and I'ma play the, the game just as if I was playing anybody else.

and that's with all my effort.

And when you see that, people gonna see the kind of player I am.

Just so you know, the Saints passed on you.

Yeah.

Well, they did that.

Yeah, just stir that up a little bit.

Hey, the Saints, that team that we hate and play twice a year, they- Yeah didn't take you.

And, that's the right attitude.

I, I was on with Joe Rose in Miami, I'm on there every Friday morning, and people were up in arms that they, they didn't take Reuben Bain there.

And, you know, you gotta set that stuff aside and you gotta make the right decision for your football team.

The Dolphins did, whatever the Dolphins thought they had to do.

But if there is a way to twist anything you can into motivation, we saw it in Michael Jordan in The Last Dance six years ago, make stuff up if you have to.

But I don't get the impression Reuben Bain needs that.

He has all the motivation he needs from his basic desire to go out and be the best player he can be.

He doesn't need any actual or perceived slight.

He doesn't need any embellished or exaggerated indignity.

He's just gonna show up and he's gonna do what he has to do, because that's just the way the guy's wired.

Yeah.

Yeah.

He, he is.

And then, I mean, he, he's like a m- like a movie character almost.

Or I mean, really, with the, you know, the way he talks into the, into the microphone there.

He's no nonsense guy.Uh, we could tell that when we met him at the combine.

You could see that on the film when you watch him.

it, it, it's a phenomenal football player.

And yeah, it m- you know, I know everybody was connecting dots with Miami and all of that.

Miami's, you know, defensive line was one of the areas they probably look at their football team to go, "No, we don't need help here right now."

But yeah, Bain, here's the famous clip- It's so good just walking right by him.

It's so good.

It really is.

Play that again.

It, it is incredible.

Play that again.

Re-rack, re-queue.

Yeah.

But, but the other thing I love about- That is so good.

There he comes I, I know.

It is.

It's amazing.

Just the, "Uh, screw you, I shouldn't have been on the board at 15."

"I'm gonna keep walking."

It is so good.

The internal, external- He probably would've done it if he was picked first.

I think he would've been, too.

I don't think he's into that crap.

"I don't have time for this shit."

Right.

Exactly right.

I, I feel you all the way.

I, I don't know if it, it mattered.

But, but I do love the internal, external conversation.

And I think I've told you this before, but I'll, I'll just say it again 'cause it's been a while.

something I learned on, in football later on in life, and I really learned it more when I was in New England after I played.

After I played and I, you know, started to hear things like that from Belichick and the Patriots and how they approach things.

And you know, there was even some sports psychologists, I think, that had been involved in these conversations somewhere.

But, but really, y- you know, honing in on if you wanna be successful in the NFL as a team and as a player, it's gotta be internal.

It does have to be internal.

You, you can't wait to, oh, wait, did somebody say something about me?

Now I'm up here, and now nobody's saying anything about me, and now I'm cool and chill and I'm not working that hard.

And then somebody says, "I'm crap," and then it's, "Whoa, let me rev it up and I'm gonna work really hard."

Right?

To, to, you know Th- those are the teams that are all over the place during the NFL season.

I think that was one of the main psychological reasons the New England Patriots were amazing.

Yeah, we know they could take some bill- bulletin board material, but being there on a everyday basis, it was holding themself accountable to a standard in how they viewed things should be done.

And that to me is the right approach by Reuben Bain and, and always the right approach in all of football or any sport you're competing in.

He is the second in line to be the defensive rookie of the year.

We showed you the odds yesterday.

David Bailey, the Jets, plus 450.

Reuben Bain Jr. plus 550.

I'm not a big fan of wagering on things that are determined by the vote of 50 people, especially when I'm one of them, but this is something that people do indeed choose to put some of their hard-earned money upon, and it requires full and complete integrity of the entire process, and that raises some questions that I won't get into right now.

But there has been at least one issue that's come up recently about the overall integrity of the prospec- process and the, the transparency of the process given some recent developments in the NFL that popped up three weeks ago today.

Enough of that for now, though.

You, you know what I'm talking about?

We're gonna, we're gonna revisit that topic earlier, but I'm just trying to It's been three weeks and I'm trying to get away from that topic, although every time I think I'm out, they pull me back in.

Yeah.

I, I, I know they do.

Definitely.

I just, I just got a, I just got a text from one of the PFT writers about another potential development as it relates.

Not, not anything big- Yeah but it's just not, it's not going away.

Yeah.

It is not going away.

No.

It, it doesn't seem, I th- I'm pretty sure I know what you're talking about, and all of that has to do with the coach that's in New England or something like that- Sh- and a reporter.

Yeah, I hear you there.

Uh- It has to do with staying on target.

Yeah, stay on target.

I mean Stay on target.

So staying on target- Even though the target is constantly moving.

Hey, I'd worry about Reuben.

Reuben Bain would be a guy you'd think about next year for d- you know, it's a rookie of the year, though.

They got, you know, two defensive tackles in the middle.

He's gonna be in some favorable spots, no doubt about that.

You know, and that graphic, too, you know, these are the ones to me are the ones where y- you, you can maybe, you know, make some money, these future type bets.

The one I do like is down the list a little bit, that Malachi Lawrence pick right there.

Malachi Lawrence, I know Nick Saban got caught into a hot mic saying, "I think this is a little bit of a reach."

But what I would tell you is that, no, he was coming off the board in the next three to four to five picks.

The league, it viewed, I talked to way too many people, you know, everybody thought Malachi Lawrence was going at the end of the first round.

So, with Malachi Lawrence, and again, just a little bit like I said with Reuben Bain, yeah, he's way down the list there.

And you look at their defense, again in Dallas, and you go, yeah, Quinnen Williams.

Yeah, Kenny Clark in the mids- in middle.

Oh, Rashan Gary's on the other side.

And you know, we're gonna have here with the Malachi Lawrence who can really get after the pass, the, the quarterback, he's got a chance.

He'd be one of those ones I'd look at if you got some extra money in the, in the couch cushions.

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