The Jets currently hold the No. 2 overall pick in this month’s draft, and the prevailing sentiment for the past few months has been that they are most likely to select an edge rusher.
Assuming they do opt for a pass rusher, which one are they most likely to select?
The Jets have already made several additions on defense, including edge rushers Joseph Ossai and Kingsley Enagbare. However, they also traded Jermaine Johnson and allowed Michael Clemons to leave in free agency, so there’s plenty of room for a rookie edge rusher to make an immediate impact.
For most of the pre-draft process, it has been Ohio State’s Arvell Reese who has been most widely expected to be the first defensive player off the board. However, recent buzz suggests the Jets may be leaning towards taking Texas Tech’s David Bailey.
Insiders, including Peter Schrager and Daniel Jeremiah, have reported that the Jets prefer Bailey to Reese, and some oddsmakers now have Bailey as the favorite to be selected second overall.
While any rumors of this nature need to be taken with a pinch of salt at this time of year, a case can be made that Bailey is the safer pick and the more pro-ready player. Ultimately, the decision may come down to where the Jets’ decision makers’ priorities lie.
Bailey’s late rise is reminiscent of what happened in 2022, when Aidan Hutchinson was widely considered to be the best player in the draft, but the Jaguars ended up taking Travon Walker instead. Many viewed this as Jacksonville overthinking things, and they may wish they just made the obvious choice, even though Walker is a solid player in his own right. Ironically, Aaron Glenn was a major beneficiary of this decision as the Lions were able to draft Hutchinson, who played a big part in the defensive improvement, which ultimately led to Glenn becoming a head coaching candidate.
On the face of it, Bailey was by far the more productive edge rusher of the two as he led the FBS with 14.5 sacks in 2025, whereas Reese had just 6.5. That undersells Reese’s role in the Buckeyes defense, though, as he played almost half of his snaps as an off-ball linebacker and brings sideline-to-sideline range and coverage abilities.
Bailey doesn’t have the same kind of versatility, but his pure pass rushing ability could make him an impact player from day one at the NFL level. He may be limited against the run early on, though.
Reese’s pass rushing potential involves a lot more projection than Bailey, because he only started playing regularly on the edge last year. He clearly has upside, with raw technique in terms of his hand usage being the obvious thing that NFL coaches will seek to refine so that he can realize his potential.
The success of Micah Parsons, who was primarily an off-ball linebacker at Penn State but developed into one of the league’s top edge rushers in Dallas, has draft analysts speculating that Reese’s career could go in a similar direction.
Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Arvell Reese (8) reacts during the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin / Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Of the two, Reese offers more in terms of run defense, which could be important given that the Jets already have a starting defensive end in Will McDonald IV, whose primary strength lies in the pass rush. He would also be the ideal chess piece for any defense that wanted to use him in a variety of different ways. For the Jets, though, that may be less attractive than the chance to upgrade their pass rush off the edge, which was a weakness at times last year.
Since the buzz has intensified that Bailey could be in the conversation to be the first defensive player selected, Bailey’s game has come under added scrutiny. Some scouts believe he can be stiff, which can limit how effective he will be at beating opposing tackles with an outside speed rush. He instead tends to favor a speed-to-power approach, occasionally mixing in a spin move. It should be noted that new DL coach Karl Dunbar hasn’t been a fan of his pass rushers using spin moves in the past, though.
Reese’s own ability to bend the edge has also been questioned, although it’s considered a developing area and most draft experts seemed to agree that a recent viral video of him failing to impress in a pass rush drill is unlikely to change how teams view him.
Judging by the types of players the Jets have targeted during this offseason and the importance they have been attaching to locker room culture change, any decision on whether to draft Bailey over Reese could come down to how well they would suit the team’s current mindset. Reese is viewed as a high-character player with a desire to improve, while Bailey has had a few concerning incidents in the past, including an on-field altercation with a photographer and an ejection for a personal foul while at Texas Tech. The Jets may be enticed by the violence and aggression he plays with, though.
If the Jets are going to add an impact pass rusher in the draft, the possibility remains that they could pass on both Bailey and Reese and instead look elsewhere, either by trading down a few spots or with the 16th pick. Other possible first-round edges include Miami’s Reuben Bain and Ahkeem Mesidor, Auburn’s Keldric Faulk, Missouri’s Zion Young and UCF’s Malachi Lawrence, so it’s clearly a deep position and could even be one in which they double-dip.
Of the players named above, Bain is easily the highest profile. He has excellent film both in terms of the pass rush and against the run, and had good success against top-level opposition. He could be overmatched against elite NFL tackles, though, because he lacks length.
Right now, though, it’s looking increasingly like New York might be deciding between Reese and Bailey. With diverse pros and cons for each option, this decision isn’t going to be straightforward.
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