Published October 12, 2026 08:49 AM
The Jets made linebacker David Bailey the second overall pick in the draft because they believed he could make game-changing plays off the edge in their defense, but his first four games led to some grumbling about his lack of impact.
Bailey had two sacks in those contests, but they didn’t stop the Jets from opening 1-3. The grumbling will be harder to find after Bailey’s performance in the team’s fifth game of the year.
Bailey had three sacks of Deshaun Watson in a 17-12 home win and Bailey said after the game that the defense “got together and sat down and made a list of things that we needed to work on as a whole and individually.” That effort paid off handsomely for Bailey and the Jets on Sunday.
“I’ve said it all along that his time is going to come,” head coach Aaron Glenn said, via a transcript from the team. “I have all the confidence in him in the world. He did a good job today. He did a good job. There are some things that he’s got to work on. For him to come out and have, I think, three sacks, that’s who David is and we expected that.”
Bailey’s performance led to a change in the betting markets as well. He’s now the favorite for defensive rookie of the year at sportsbooks and he’ll stay there if Sunday’s performance was a sign of things to come.