David Bailey, EDGE, Texas Tech, Draft Profile
Hailing from Santa Ana, California, David was a highly ranked four star recruit coming out of powerhouse Mater Dei High School. He took his talents to Stanford University, where he showed continued growth over his three years there. David entered the transfer portal as one of the most coveted players available, ultimately landing at Texas Tech, where he helped anchor the best defense in program history and one of the best units nationally. He finished the season with 19.5 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks.
Measurables
Height: 6’3
Weight: 250
Year: Senior
Combine/Pro Day Results: TBD
Strengths
He is the best pass rusher in this year’s draft cycle, and I do not think it is particularly close. He utilizes an elite blend of strength, speed, and quickness to stress offensive linemen in a multitude of ways. He possesses truly elite bend, allowing him to breeze past offensive tackles, and pairs that flexibility with effective counter moves to threaten the inside shoulder of over setting blockers, routinely winning with his abnormal movement skills.
He also converts speed to power at a shockingly consistent level, adding depth and variety to an already advanced pass rush arsenal. Similar to Arvell Reese, he can drive offensive linemen back into the quarterback’s lap with just one arm. His sideline to sideline speed allows him to chase down ball carriers and quarterbacks outside the pocket with frightening ease, and he has the burst to shoot gaps and disrupt plays in the backfield.
Even when he is not the one finishing the play, his constant disruption creates positive outcomes by forcing quarterbacks to adjust to his presence, leading to broken plays and scramble situations.
Video 1: EDGE David Bailey (31) at his best being a game-wrecker leveraging his elite athleticism to go around and through would be blockers.
Weaknesses
His smaller frame is most evident in the run game. Can get mauled by offensive linemen. When he is unable to win with quickness, he lacks the ability to anchor with any real effectiveness, leading to five plus yard runs when offenses direct the ball at him.
Elite interior defensive line play, coupled with poor opposing offensive line play, masked his porous run defense for much of the 2025 season. He struggles to disengage from blockers in the run game and often prefers to “dance” with linemen in an attempt to win around them, abandoning his gap due to his inability to anchor. There are legitimate three down concerns because of his run defense issues, and he will require an adept defensive coordinator to help mask these weaknesses.
Video 2: EDGE David Bailey (31) at his worst struggling to disengage from blocks and anchor down against the run.
Overall
David Bailey is a truly elite pass rusher. He displays one of the deepest pass rush bags in the class, and when that is combined with his elite athleticism, you are looking at Micah Parsons level potential as a pass rusher. Like Parsons, Bailey struggles to anchor in the run game, relying on speed and athleticism to shoot gaps and blow up plays. When he is unable to disrupt a run play early, it can be a rough watch.
Ultimately, his draft position will come down to how heavily teams weigh this glaring weakness. At the end of the day, David Bailey has double digit sack contributor written all over him, and in today’s NFL, which continues to prioritize stopping the pass, he is a dynamic weapon with the potential to live in the backfield for a very long time. I would take him in the first round, and you could easily convince me to take him in the top 10 due to his game wrecking upside.
NFL Comparison
Bailey, like Parsons, is a super freak athlete but undersized for a traditional edge role. That lack of ideal size in both players’ frames leads to some undesirable outcomes in the run game. However, Bailey, like Parsons, is such a force multiplier as a pass rusher that teams will gladly accept those deficiencies without hesitation.
Bailey also benefits from having more experience as a full time edge defender and significantly more tape of him being a dynamic pass rusher than Parsons had coming out of college. That experience has allowed Bailey to develop a more diverse pass rush arsenal. Ultimately, both players rack up production largely due to their unique athleticism, with Bailey’s refinement as a pass rusher serving as the cherry on top.