Why the Jets made the wrong choice picking David Bailey over Arvell Reese

Did the Jets make a mistake?

Charlie Baduini

Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Arvell Reese / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It's official, David Bailey belongs to the New York Jets. Despite a late surge from Arvell Reese, Darren Mougey and Aaron Glenn opted for the Texas Tech standout with the No. 2 overall pick.

In the weeks and days leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft, draft analysts such as Daniel Jeremiah, Albert Breer, and Peter Schrager all had the Jets picking Bailey, and they all ended up being correct.

The overarching argument was that the Jets needed players who could help the team win now, and Bailey, being the best pure pass rusher in the class, could help Glenn save his job and turn the defense around in 2026.

But that doesn't account for just how good Reese could have been out of the box for the Jets, and what kind of impact he can provide without being a featured weapon off the edge right away.

Jets made a mistake picking Arvell Reese over David Bailey

First off, it's not like Bailey is a bad prospect or anything; he's a great selection at No. 2. After all, he led college football in sacks last season with 14.5, and proved to be one of the biggest contributors to Texas Tech's vaunted defense.

But did the Jets really need another pass rush specialist? Bailey is phenomenal at getting after the quarterback, of course, but his biggest weakness is against the run. Sound familiar?

Will McDonald, New York's first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, isn't a replica of Bailey or anything, but they have similar strengths and weaknesses. McDonald is a speed rusher who banks on his first step to overwhelm opposing linemen to get sacks. So does Bailey.

Having both McDonald and Bailey on the field at the same time could be concerning for the opposition on obvious pass rush downs, but when they run the ball? There are some major problems.

Having Reese in the mix would not only have given the Jets some extra pass rush juice but also an all-around proven defensive commodity. At Ohio State, Reese did it all for the Buckeyes, including getting after the quarterback, stopping the run, and even playing in coverage.

The Jets have an elite pass rusher on their hands in Bailey, but Reese is going to be a jack-of-all-trades defensive chess piece, and New York's defense could've certainly used that.

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.