David Bailey's biggest pre-draft concern may have been overblown

It's been an up-and-down start to the season for New York Jets rookie pass rusher David Bailey. He started off strong in the team's first two games, recording two sacks in two weeks, the first time a rookie did that for Gang Green since Shaun Ellis in 2000.

But the last two weeks, the Jets' pass rush has been virtually non-existent, and while that's not all solely on Bailey, it's hard not to toss some shade in the direction of Darren Mougey and Aaron Glenn for deciding to use the No. 2 overall pick on a player who was supposed to make an immediate impact and is struggling to start his career.

Before the 2026 NFL Draft, Bailey was deemed a high-floor player, someone who would come in and make his presence felt as a pass rusher right away. His biggest negative? His perceived inability to defend against the run, an area he struggled in at Texas Tech.

Ironically enough, through the first four games of his NFL career, it's been the complete opposite. Bailey has excelled at defending against the run, which should come as a shock to fans who have been paying attention dating back to the pre-draft process.

David Bailey's dominance as a run-stopper should come as a shock

After the first four games of the season, ESPN shared a wide variety of advanced statistics, including pass rush, run stop, and blocking win rates. In the category of edge run-stop win rate, Bailey ranks third, holding a run-stop win rate of 36%, winning 19 of 53 reps.

Considering how concerned Jets fans were about the team's run defense entering the 2026 season, particularly with Bailey, and former first-round draft pick Will McDonald's past struggles as an individual run defender, it's been a bit of a shock that the team has actually been decent against the run.

At least, until they got manhandled by the Chicago Bears this past week.

Bailey's solid play against the run is backed up by his Pro Football Focus grade as well (for what that's worth), as PFF has given him a run-defense grade of 75.1 on the season, best for 13th in the league among 108 qualified edges.

While Bailey is still off to a bit of a sluggish start as a pass rusher, his play against the run is an exciting development. As long as he's continuing to take steps in the right direction, Jets fans can ease off the rookie just a little bit.

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