David Bailey’s rookie year is starting to turn into a real problem for the rest of the NFL.
The New York Jets’ second-overall pick was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 5 after a wrecking-ball performance in the Jets’ 17-12 win over the previously 3-1 Cleveland Browns. Bailey finished with seven total tackles, and three of them were sacks. The other four also mattered: two stopped screen plays for minimal gains, and two held up the run for short yardage.
The honors figure to keep rolling in. Bailey is also the clear front-runner for Pepsi Defensive Rookie of the Week, with 62.7% of fan votes at the time of the report. Jalon Daniels was second with 16.8%.
That kind of outing has already pushed Bailey past Arvell Reese of the New York Giants in the race for Defensive Rookie of the Year. The numbers back up the buzz.
According to Pro Football Focus, Bailey leads all rookies with 5.0 sacks and 20 total pressures, and no other rookie is within five pressures of him. He’s also made his presence felt against the run, pacing rookie edge rushers with 14 solo tackles in that phase, six more than the next closest player.
The next step for Bailey is making that damage more consistent when he’s rushing one-on-one. Through Week 4, his pass-rush win rate sat at 5.4%, which ranked 85th out of 90 qualified edge rushers, per PFF. Then Week 5 hit, and he nearly tripled that number, posting a career-high 13.8%.
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The Jets are already thinking ahead to the 2027 NFL Draft, where edge rusher could be one of the areas they try to address around David Bailey. With multiple first-round picks in hand, New York has the kind of draft capital that can change how aggressive a team is when it spots a pass-rush talent it likes, especially if the front office believes the roster will have enough veteran presence to help keep younger players on track.
One name to watch is South Carolinas Dylan Stewart, a high-upside defender whose profile comes with some off-field baggage that has already complicated his stock. Even so, the Jets may be in a position to weigh the upside against the risk, and how far theyre willing to go for help opposite Bailey could end up telling us plenty about how bold they plan to be with those premium picks. [Read more 🡒]
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But the bigger question around Glenn is no longer just about play-calling or scheme. It is about whether the posture he brings on game day, and the way he carries himself with players and officials, fits a team still searching for direction and sitting near 1-4. The defense has given him something tangible to point to, yet the broader head coach picture is where the debate keeps getting louder. [Read more 🡒]