After getting his career started with the Stanford Cardinal and spending three seasons out on the West Coast, David Bailey reached a much higher level when he made the move to Lubbock, Texas to complete his college football career with Joey McGuire and the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
In just one season of playing within Shiel Wood’s defense, Bailey managed to have a stunning breakout season for the Red Raiders as he nearly doubled his career total for sacks and tackles for loss thanks to everything he accomplished this season.
And with that sort of success with the Red Raiders (helping Texas Tech to the College Football Playoff and playing a key role on one of the most dominant defenses in Texas Tech football history), Bailey is now being projected as a top 5 sort of talent for the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft.
Texas Tech star David Bailey chosen as top 5 pick in 2026 NFL mock draft by Athlon Sports
According to a 2026 NFL Mock Draft by Athlon Sports’ Luke Easterling, Bailey is being projected as the No. 4 pick overall, sending the stellar pass rusher to Nashville to play for the Tennessee Titans. Pairing Bailey with a NFL star like Jeffrey Simmons would be incredibly fun to watch for Titans fans.
And again, Bailey is coming off of a career year.
Each and every season of his career, he developed and became even more productive. When he arrived in Lubbock, Bailey had accumulated 111 combined tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, and 14.5 sacks in three seasons out at Stanford.
In just one season with the Red Raiders, Bailey managed to record 52 total tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, and 14.5 sacks. Now *checks notes and grabs a calculator* he’s headed to the NFL with 163 career tackles, 42 tackles for loss, and 29 sacks.
That’s remarkable stuff. And I’m sure Tennessee fans would love to see him play alongside Simmons on Tennessee’s defensive front.