Jets Select Sack Machine David Bailey With 2nd Overall Pick

The Jets have selected Edge Rusher David Bailey with the 2^nd overall pick.

It was a foregone conclusion when the draft order was set that the Raiders would select Fernando Mendoza first overall. Meaning for months now, it has really been the Jets on the clock. Early in the draft process, it became clear that the Jets would take either Ohio State’s Arvell Reese, or Texas Tech’s David Bailey.

Bailey had the college production and the proven resume. But in many circles, people thought Reese had the higher upside. In the end, the Jets opted for someone with a track record of getting after the QB.

Bailey racked up 14.5 sacks last year with Texas Tech. That was enough to tie him for the most in the NCAA last season. It matched the 14.5 sacks he had in the 3 previous seasons with Stanford.

Reese, meanwhile, is more of a project. The Ohio State product spent most of his time at Ohio State playing Inside Linebacker. He had just 7 total sacks in his college career. 6.5 of which came this past season. But scouts love his upside.

It will be a while until we know if the Jets made the right choice. It feels likely Bailey will make a bigger impact right now. But the Jets are not exactly ready to compete right now. In 5 years, we may look back and say they passed on a great player in Reese to settle for someone merely very good in Bailey. We might also see Reese fail to reach his ceiling, and see Bailey rack up double-digit sacks every season.

The Jaguars faced a similar choice a few years back. Either take the finished product in Aidan Hutchinson, or the upside of Travon Walker. They opted for Walker. 4 years later, Hutchison is still the better, more consistent player.

The Jets took a guy many consider a safer pick. Much higher floor, slightly lower ceiling. It might take 5+ years to know if they did the right thing.