David Bailey is going to continue getting NFL Draft buzz between now and when the Draft actually takes place in April. It’s inevitable. The man is incredibly talented, dominated all season long, and has shown continual growth and development throughout the entirety of his college career.
And he was really, really dang good for the Texas Tech Red Raiders defense this past season. By far one of the best players in the country and a truly terrifying pass rusher (for opposing quarterbacks and offensive linemen, that is, Texas Tech fans loved seeing him thrive and collide with folks on a regular basis).
It makes a ton of sense why, as more and more 2026 mock NFL drafts keep getting released, we’d continue to see more and more of Bailey’s name listed in the first round of the draft projections. Nobody knows for sure where Bailey is going to end up landing, but the mock draft from NFL analyst Bucky Brooks has him lined up to help out the New Orleans Saints.
NFL analyst Bucky Brooks’ NFL Mock Draft puts David Bailey with the New Orleans Saints at the No. 8 overall pick
Much of Brooks’ reasoning centers around whether or not New Orleans will be able to keep Cameron Jordan around given that he’s now 36 and his contract situation is a bit of a question mark right now. Thus the potential need to go out and get a dominant pass rusher to help bolster the defense.
But even if the Saints do find a way to keep a hold of Jordan, Brooks seems convinced that New Orleans will need to find someone like Bailey to get a hold of so that they eventually have a long term option who can have a significant impact on the defensive front.
So, why not go out and draft a guy who had 19.5 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks for the Red Raiders this past season? Go ahead and pick him in the top 10. I think that makes sense.