David Bailey (born August 28, 2003) is an American professional football defensive end for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). Bailey played college football for the Stanford Cardinal and Texas Tech Red Raiders and was selected by the Jets second overall in the 2026 NFL draft.
Early life Bailey attended Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. As a senior in 2021, he had 54 tackles and 15.5 sacks and was named The Orange County Register' Orange County defensive player of the year. He played in the 2022 All-American Bowl. Bailey committed to Stanford University to play college football.
College career Stanford Bailey entered his true freshman year at Stanford in 2022 as a starter. He played in 11 games with nine starts and had 46 tackles and 2.5 sacks. He was named to 247Sports' true freshman All-American team. He returned to Stanford as a starter his sophomore year in 2023. In the season opener against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, Bailey recorded six tackles, four tackles for loss, and three sacks to help lead Stanford to a 37-24 win. He played in 10 games and finished with 34 tackles and five sacks. In his junior year, he played in all 12 games and finished with 31 tackles and seven sacks.
Texas Tech On April 4, 2025, Bailey announced that he would transfer to Texas Tech. He ended the 2025 college football season tied with Nadame Tucker of the Western Michigan Broncos for the most sacks in the FBS, with 14.5. His 2025 season put him second in Texas Tech history for sacks in a season finishing half a sack behind Brandon Sharpe. He was named a unanimous All-American along with teammate Jacob Rodriguez. He was also named as the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year and Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year.
Professional career
Bailey was selected by the New York Jets in the first round, second overall, of the 2026 NFL draft. On May 8, 2026, Bailey signed a four-year contract with the Jets worth $54.6 million, which featured a $36.8 million signing bonus.
Career statistics Legend Led NCAA Division I FBS Bold Career high
NFL Season Team Games Tackles Fumbles Interceptions GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck Sfty TFL FF FR Yds TD PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD 2026 NYJ 2 2 7 6 1 2.0 0 1 6 1 0 — — 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Career 2 2 7 6 1 2.0 0 1 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0
College Season Team GP Tackles Fumbles Cmb Solo Ast TFL Sck PD FF FR TD 2022 Stanford 10 46 29 17 8.5 2.5 0 2 0 0 2023 Stanford 10 34 22 12 6.0 5.0 0 0 0 0 2024 Stanford 12 31 22 9 8.0 7.0 1 5 0 0 2025 Texas Tech 14 52 32 20 19.5 14.5 3 3 1 0 Career 46 163 105 58 42.0 29.0 4 10 1 0
References
External links New York Jets bio Texas Tech Red Raiders bio Stanford Cardinal bio