David Bailey is an EDGE from Texas Tech who is ranked No. 27 on my NFL Draft Top 100 Big Board. This comprehensive scouting report analyzes Bailey’s draft potential, current mock draft trends, and where he ranks among the top prospects.
David Bailey’s NFL Draft Potential
David Bailey has the top PFSN CFB EDGE Impact grade in the entire nation, with a glistening score of 94.9. He’s a relentless, near-unstoppable pass-rush presence who’s terrorized almost every blocker he’s faced. At 6’3″, 247 pounds, with excellent proportional length, he’s built to win the leverage battle and simultaneously outreach blockers, but he can also create instant angle advantages with his instant explosion, arc-running speed, fluid bend, and lightning-quick lateral agility. He’s shown he can generate speed-to-power with his frame, but he excels in particular with rips, inside counters, and brisk swim moves.
Bailey’s run defense remains inconsistent at times, but even there, he’s flashed the ability to stack-and-shed blocks while limiting displacement. At the moment, he’s still in Round 2 range for me, but there’s a definite chance he could crack the Top 32.
CFB Week 9 Update
Texas Tech dominated the ghost of the Oklahoma State football program 42-0, and because they had a positive game script from start to finish, Bailey wasn’t able to pin his ears back much as a pass-rusher. Still, Bailey flashed the ability to use his length to stack-and-shed down blocks, and he contributed to a TFL. Bailey’s Oklahoma State tape isn’t the first evaluators will turn to in the spring because of the circumstantial limitations, but his traits pop each week.
CFB Week 10 Update
Bailey has proven to be almost unblockable in recent weeks. Over his past five games, Bailey has accumulated eight sacks and 10.5 TFLs, and he got off to a quick start against Kansas State. On the very first play, he beat a TE block with a quick swim, surged past a tackle attempting to play damage control, and chased the quarterback into a corner with his inhuman quickness and closing speed. Bailey’s motor is unhinged, and he uses that energy to fuel his instant explosion off the line, as well as his recalibration efficiency on counters and angle adjustments.
No rusher on the circuit is as electrified as Bailey with his first-step and lateral explosive range, and he proved once again in Week 10 that he can use his proportional length and compact mass to stack and control blocks in the run game. In the preseason, he was a sleeper, but now there’s nothing under-the-radar about his projection. He’s a clear first-round prospect, and a top-tier pass-rushing EDGE in the 2026 NFL Draft.
CFB Week 11 Update
The Red Raiders dominated BYU in Week 11, and Bailey was a notable part of the dismantling – though less with his pass-rush ability and more with his pursuit. Bailey assuredly pinched the pocket and reduced the QB’s time window on more than one occasion with his arc-running explosiveness, but it was his voracious motor and pursuit speed that ended multiple boundary-tracking plays before they made it upfield.
Bailey also had a heady pass breakup playing contain, using his length to occlude passing windows. There were times when Bailey’s lacking lower-body mass hurt him as an edge-setter, but overall, it was a strong day for a potential first-round pick.
Where Is Bailey Being Selected Most Often in the PFSN Mock Draft Simulator?
Bailey currently holds the No. 32 overall rank among prospects, placing him among the first-round caliber prospects. His most recent Average Draft Position (ADP) of 20.3 as of November 11 reflects that he is typically being selected in the first round.
Interestingly, his ADP is higher than his rank, suggesting that users are targeting him more aggressively than his positional ranking might indicate.
Users controlling the Dallas Cowboys have been the team that selected Bailey the most frequently over the past week, accounting for 3.9% of their picks across all seven rounds. Notably, 11.3% of the Dallas Cowboys’ first-round selections over that same period were used on Bailey, underscoring users’ strong preference for him as a potential immediate-impact EDGE defender.
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Where Does David Bailey Rank Amongst Other NFL Draft Prospects?
Bailey is currently ranked No. 27 overall in my October 2026 NFL Draft Big Board. Among EDGE prospects, Bailey ranks 3rd at the position, trailing prospects like Rueben Bain Jr., Keldric Faulk. As a first-round caliber prospect, Bailey is among the top-tier players in this draft class.
Want to see how we rank all the draft prospects in the PFSN Mock Draft Simulator? Check out our NFL Draft Prospect Rankings page, which includes more than 750 prospects.
