FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- In 1.62 seconds, the human heart beats anywhere from 1.6 to 2.7 times, depending on the resting pulse rate. In the same amount of time, New York Jets edge rusher David Bailey can explode out of his stance, cover 10 yards and be in position to make a sack.
Two heartbeats ... and down goes the quarterback.
Thump-thump ... crunch!
“He has a really quick get-off,” said left tackle Olu Fashanu, who faces Bailey every day in practice. “He has no wasted movement with his first step, so he’s really closing ground quickly. I think that’s what makes him different.”
Bailey’s impressive 10-yard split at the NFL scouting combine -- 1.62 seconds in a sizzling 4.5 40-yard dash -- solidified his status in the draft, one of the big reasons why the Jets selected him No. 2 overall. For an edge rusher, the 10-yard split often is more revealing than the 40-yard dash time. In the NFL trenches, a tenth of a second separates elite pass rushers from the pedestrian ones.
Speed and efficiency are the hallmarks of Bailey’s life. Raised in a family environment who stressed academics and discipline, Bailey graduated from Stanford in three years with a degree in science, technology and society. He transferred to Texas Tech, shifted his focus entirely to football and transformed himself into a blue-chip NFL prospect in one season -- one hellacious, 14.5-sack, 72-QB pressure season.
Bailey, who turns 23 on Aug. 28, is accelerating into his rookie season, trying to deliver a rush job for the ages. He patterns his game after Von Miller, a former second overall pick by the Denver Broncos who entered the league in 2011 with the same height (6-foot-3), weight (250) and 10-yard split (1.62) as Bailey.
Mirror images? Bailey hopes so. After all, Miller won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and ranks ninth on the all-time sack list with 138.5, positioning himself to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday.
“I wouldn’t say I feel pressure, but it’s in the back of your mind,” said Bailey, addressing the question every high draft pick faces. “You’re the No. 2 pick and there are high expectations from the fans and also from teammates and staff and everything. I try not to let that get to me.”
While expectations are high, the fanfare isn’t.
Bailey didn’t make the NFLPA’s 2026 rising stars list, which recognized 10 rookies based, in part, on marketing demands and social-media reach. New York Giants linebacker Arvell Reese, compared to Bailey throughout the pre-draft process, made the list despite being picked three spots later.
Not that Bailey minds the snub.
Born in Orange, California, the former star at perennial power Mater Dei High School is the epitome of SoCal chill, according to those who know him. He’s not obsessed with personal accolades, but that doesn’t mean he’s not driven. He knows what his job is, and he embraces it.
“I play football for a lot of reasons -- I could go on and on why I love football -- but getting a sack, it’s literally probably the best feeling it the world,” he said, smiling. “It’s like nothing else.”
And when he gets two or three sacks in a game?
“Sometimes it feels like you’re in a little bit of flow state, and everything is just falling,” Bailey said.
While there are no guarantees, recent history shows that highly drafted edge rushers usually make an immediate impact.
Of the 14 edge rushers drafted in the top 10 from 2016 to 2025, four won Defensive Rookie of the Year (Joey Bosa, Nick Bosa, Chase Young and Will Anderson Jr.) and nine recorded at least seven sacks in their first season. Most are enjoying productive careers. Only two of the 14 haven’t panned out -- Clelin Ferrell and Tyree Wilson, both drafted by the Raiders.
“Obviously, they selected me for my pass rush ability,” Bailey said, “but also, man, I want to bring a lot of energy to the team. Being a younger guy, I feel like it’s my responsibility to bring a lot of juice.”
You’d expect a guy from Orange to deliver the juice, and he’s doing that in training camp. Each day, he makes one or two “wow” plays, using his exceptional burst to cause problems for Fashanu and Armand Membou, the starting tackles.
Bailey is known in the offensive-line room as “a pain in the ass,” according to guard Joe Tippmann -- a high compliment.
“I see him in the backfield all the time,” defensive tackle Harrison Phillips said. “Oh, my gosh.”
Fashanu, beginning his third season, said Bailey’s rush angles are different than any edge rusher he’s faced. By that, he means that Bailey can take wider angles to the quarterback because of his ability to close quickly.
Again, it goes back to that 1.62-second split. That puts additional stress on the tackle, who knows he must kick out quickly to cut him off. In doing so, it leaves the tackle vulnerable to inside counter moves.
“He’s everything that we expect him to be,” coach Aaron Glenn said.
“I think he’s just scratching the surface of what he’s going to become, which is pretty scary -- scary in a good way,” Texas Tech defensive coordinator Shiel Wood told ESPN.
Even though he was regarded as the most pro-ready pass rusher in the draft, Bailey’s knock has been that he needs to develop counter moves and must learn to use his hands to disengage from blockers.
He has huge hands -- 10.25 inches, which put him in the 80th percentile of edge rushers at the combine. There are questions about his run defense, to which defensive line coach Karl Dunbar responded, “Don’t care. Can he rush the passer? That’s what we’re going to do with him.”
Learning has never been a problem for Bailey, who made it through one of the country’s most rigorous academic institutions in only three years. His coach at Mater Dei, Bruce Rollinson, described Bailey as “a gifted writer and a gifted thinker.” He recalled phone calls from Bailey’s teachers, raving about his acumen in the classroom.
Before committing to the Cardinal, he was prepared to attend Harvard, following in the footsteps of older brother D.J.
Academics were important for his parents, Anthony and Monica, who emigrated from Jamaica and Ghana, respectively. Rollinson, finally convinced them that David was a special talent and needed to play at a higher level than the Ivy League.
“David just had that ability to just turn a football game,” said Rollinson, adding, “he could destroy a young offensive lineman’s confidence in one [practice] period. He was uniquely freakish. People talk about his speed, but his hip bend was unreal.”
Bailey was a solid player for Stanford (12.5 sacks in three seasons), but he didn’t blow up ESPN senior draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s Big Board. The Cardinal used him mainly as an off-ball linebacker, which limited his pass-rushing opportunities. That wasn’t an issue at Texas Tech, which let him do what he does best.
He didn’t arrive in Lubbock, Texas, until midway through the 2025 spring practice schedule. After only four practices, with little chance to study the playbook, Bailey was thrown into a scrimmage. He was paired with Romello Height as edge rushers; Height would become a third-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers.
“I remember there were a couple of plays in that scrimmage where they met at the quarterback in a flash,” Wood said. “Everybody thought, ‘Man, this is going to be pretty neat.’”
Bailey viewed his one season at Texas Tech as an NFL prep year, taking classes just to remain eligible and focusing on his football future. Everything he did, from conditioning to body maintenance to film study, was done with the NFL in mind.
“It was a personal thing in terms of it being my last year and me wanting to put something I was proud of on tape,” Bailey said. “I knew that I had to operate and function differently than I had in the past.”
He did it quickly, using that 1.62-second speed.
Thump-thump.
