Well, it didn’t take all that long for David Bailey to get picked up in the 2026 edition of the NFL Draft. The former Texas Tech pass rushing threat is leaving Lubbock after just one season with the Red Raiders and will be heading to New York to play for the New York Jets.
Bailey is the first defensive player off the board after Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza was selected as the No. 1 overall pick by the Las Vegas Raiders.
With this pick, Bailey is in some pretty elite company. There truly aren’t many Red Raiders who have been picked in the first round and he’s among a very select few.
WITH THE SECOND PICK...
— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) April 24, 2026
David Bailey is heading to the @nyjets!#WreckEm x #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/YeMCPHTXXr
And this of course comes after a really strong season in which he dominated for the Red Raiders.
The New York Jets just made Texas Tech’s David Bailey the 1st defensive player taken in the 2026 NFL Draft
During the 2025 season, Bailey managed to help the Red Raiders to a 12-2 record overall, the first Big 12 conference championship in Texas Tech football program history, and also a berth in the College Football Playoff for the first time ever.
The 12 season wins that Texas Tech had during the 2025 season set a record for the program and it’s worth pointing out that each and every one of those dozen wins came by more than three touchdowns. The Red Raiders weren’t perfect, but they were really impressive.
Bailey was a huge reason for that as he racked up 52 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, and 14.5 sacks.
It’s going to be fun to see what Bailey is able to do for the Jets. New York could certainly use some help in a few different areas and it’s unlikely that drafting Bailey will resolve all of them, but there’s no doubt that he’ll have a chance to make an impact there.
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