Jets can't afford to make this mistake between Arvell Reese & David Bailey

Would selecting Bailey be a mistake?

Charlie Baduini

Texas Tech defensive lineman David Bailey / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

With just hours to go until the 2026 NFL Draft, experts and analysts are still not 100% sure who the New York Jets are going to take with the No. 2 overall pick.

We can narrow it down to two prospects. One of Ohio State's Arvell Reese, and Texas Tech's David Bailey will be donning the Green & White by the time the first round is said and done, and the odds have changed just about as many times as the Jets have changed quarterbacks over the last 15 years.

But if Darren Mougey and Aaron Glenn are worried about making the wrong pick, there are a few things they can look for between Reese and Bailey that could help them decide who fits best with the Jets right now.

It may just point away from the current favorite and turn New York towards the prospect with more upside.

Jets urged to not make mistake with Texas Tech's David Bailey

FanSided's Nick Villano believes the Jets would be making a mistake by not selecting Reese and burning the No. 2 pick on Bailey.

"Bailey could be a great player, but where the regret lies with with the “what if” that comes with leaving Reese on the table. Think about when the Jacksonville Jaguars took Travon Walker over Aidan Hutchinson. Walker is a good player who might be very good one day. Hutchinson has already proven to be a game wrecker. "
Nick Villano

The comparison between this year's top defensive prospects and the 2022 NFL Draft's is a good one, but it's not because of the particular players.

Reese is not Travon Walker, and Bailey isn't Aidan Hutchinson. But the debate between upside and ceiling definitely applies.

Reese isn't the same polished pass rusher that Bailey is right now, but at 20 years old, the sky is the limit for the athletic specimen. Meanwhile, Bailey is considered the sure thing, who can come in and make an impact right away.

Will Bailey's impact be as great as Reese's two, maybe three years from now? That is the question the Jets must ask themselves before they turn in the draft pick.

It seems like when NFL teams are presented with two options, namely upside and floor, they typically turn towards the direction of potential, as evidenced by the 2022 NFL Draft.

The nagging thought of passing on a player who could reach the heights of a Micah Parsons or Will Anderson Jr. would eat away at most general managers. We'll just have to see which way Mougey sees it.

Charlie Baduini

Charlie Baduini covers the New York Jets as a site expert for The Jet Press and FanSided. He is a sports journalist based in Northern New Jersey with a wide variety of sports reporting experience in print and broadcast journalism. Baduini’s byline can also be seen on Heavy and The Sporting News, where he covers several teams across the NFL and NBA. His work has been featured in Heavy, Athlon Sports, The Sporting News, Yahoo Sports, MSN, and Yardbarker. He also serves as a seasonal intern for ESPN, working as a production assistant for the Heisman Trophy Ceremony every year since 2022. Baduini has been a Jets fan for as long as he can remember, with his family's fandom dating back to the 1960s when his grandfather, Louis, became a season ticket holder. His family has since held on to the tickets to this day. He is an avid fan of the New York Knicks and New York Mets.