Grade

EDGE

1st Round

2026 Draft Class

David Bailey

Grade

Status

DraftedR1 • P2New York Jets

Texas Tech

6'3 5/8"

251lbs

Apr 30, 2026

Executive Summary

David Bailey is an explosive, high-motor edge rusher with elite first-step quickness, strong hand usage, and the ability to generate consistent pressure through speed, twitch, and a diverse pass-rush arsenal.

Strengths

Agility, Twitch, and Athleticism

Weaknesses

Strength, Weight, and Game IQ

Full Scouting Report

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Processing / Game IQ

Pros:

•Takes advantage of OL who overpursue or are overaggressive at the start

•Has a variety of different moves in his toolbox he uses to get pressure spin move, swim move, bull rush, dip and bend, etc.

Cons:

•Can give up his outside contain pretty often

•Gambles and tries to bend the edge, leaving a gaping hole for the QB to scramble through

•Tries to undercut inside on runs and leaves a gaping hole on the outside

•Below average play recogniotn

•Doesn’t recognize the play and blows past to the outside and the ball carrier has an easy hole to run through

•Runs directly into chip blocks or double teams and is taken out of the play

Athleticism / Frame

Pros:

•Above average arm length at 33”

•Okay height

•4.50 40 time

•Solid overall speed

Cons:

•Slightly below average weight-wise especially in the lower half

Tackling / Wrap Up

Pros:

•Finishes sacks well

•Good chasedown tackler

Cons:

•Comes in too high and relies on his hands or arms to grab and make tackles on ball carriers

•Doesn’t sell out on tackles, he only tries to grab

•Ball carriers easily run through his arms on runs through his assigned gap

Pursuit / Bend

Pros:

•Extremely good closing speed and pursuit

•Decent dip move

•Gets to the QB in a blink

Cons:

•Bend isn’t quite elite

Hand Usage

Pros:

•Good spin move that he sets up well and uses well

•Rip down move to get hands away is good and quick

•Quick hands with good overall timing

•Solid dip move

•Has a solid rip move

Cons:

•Has little room for error on hand timing, which will cause him to get driven back, especially in run defense

•Can struggle to disengage on run blocks

•Pretty much doesn’t have any chopdown moves to get his hands off of him once an OL locks on

Versatility

Pros:

•Can line up in a 2-point, 3-point, or 4-point stance

•Best in 3 and 4

•Has the speed and athleticism to be used as a spy

Cons:

•Been lined up at DT at times but he is completely unfit for that position he gets consistently driven back by double teams

•No actual alignment versatility

Strength / Balance / Leverage

Pros:

•Solid leverage and strength ability

•Good leg drive

•Good initial pop of the hands and arms to knock OL off balance

•Upper body strength to push OL to the side

•Has a decent bull rush move he can mix in from time to time

Cons:

•Can struggle to transition from holding his gap to pass rush after the play fake or RPO happens

•Can be easily maneuvered and sealed out of his gap leaving a wide-open running lane

•Gets completely taken out of the play in run defense if he is doubled

Explosiveness / Twitch / Agility

Pros:

•Pretty elite explosiveness

•Good overall first step

•Solid agility

•Quick feet

•Has a nice spin move he can utilize

•Can make cuts or juke moves to get by the OL

•When he times up the snap count he can fire into gaps to make a play

Cons:

•Just shy of true elite level

Games Watched

•Week 2 vs KENT, Week 4 vs UTAH, Week 5 vs HOU, Week 6 vs KU, Week 7 vs ASU, Week 10 vs BYU, CFP vs ORE

Ideal Situation

David Bailey is a very good overall prospect and pass rusher. I anticipate he will probably have between 5 and 8 sacks this upcoming season. I don’t think he will have a massive impact on the Jets. I think Arvell Reese was the much better pick and would have made a bigger impact in his 4 guaranteed years on the team. I still like Bain more than Bailey, but that is just my opinion. Bailey has elite explosiveness, twitch, and agility. Paired with exceptional pursuit speed and hands. Bailey has good length on the edge as well. Bailey isn’t a complete player by any means, and I don’t think he has the floor that people say he does. Yes, Bailey has an exceptional pass-rushing floor and has all the athleticism in the world. Bailey’s not strong at the point of attack and is lackluster in the run game. He struggles to shed blocks and regularly gets driven back or gives up his gap assignment. Part of this is because Bailey is relatively thin, especially in the lower half. Bailey will need to maximize his frame if he hasn’t already. If he hasn’t, that is a big concern moving forward and could result in him being a one-dimensional DE similar to Micah Parsons or Trey Hendrickson in terms of production. I believe both those players are better in multiple facets. Bailey will produce for the Jets and be a starter day 1, but I just don’t see it making a big difference.

Rating

•Processing / Game IQ –6.9/10

•Athleticism / Frame – 8.7/10

•Tackling / Wrap Up – 8.0/10

•Pursuit / Bend – 8.9/10

•Hand Usage – 9.0/10

•Versatility – 7.6/10

•Strength / Balance / Leverage – 8.0/10

•Explosiveness / Twitch / Agility – 9.5/10

Total = 84.4/100 (B) Early 2nd Rounder or Late 1st

Combine Testing

Height

6'4"

Weight

251lbs

16thPoor

40-Yard Dash

4.50s

97thElite

Vertical

35.0in

68thAbove Average

Bench

—

Broad Jump

129in

97thElite

Three-Cone

—

Shuttle

—

DPH Proprietary Scores

Frame Score

Measures a prospect's physical build and size relative to historical NFL positional standards.

DPH Athlete

Diamond Prospects' proprietary athletic score that evaluates a player's overall athletic profile using combine testing and positional percentiles.

Total Score

The combined athletic evaluation generated from Frame Score and DPH Athlete Score.

Combine Year: 2026 • Data from DPH Combine Database

Andrés Griñe

Founder of DiamondProspects and Head NFL Scout View Full Bio

I am an Assistant in Player Personnel/Scouting for Washington State Football with over six years of experience scouting NFL prospects and evaluating talent. I previously covered high school baseball as a writer for NMPreps and now run DiamondProspects, where I publish scouting reports, prospect evaluations, and draft analysis. I am currently a junior pursuing a degree in Sports Management and am originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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