We continue our 2026 NFL Draft preview of draft prospects that could interest the Dallas Cowboys. Today we are looking at edge defender David Bailey from Texas Tech.
EDGE
Texas Tech
Senior
4-star recruit
6’3”
250 lbs
David Bailey was a national recruit at Mater Dei High School, where he helped lead an undefeated season and a win in California’s Open Division state championship while the team finished first nationally in 2021. He was named Cal-Hi Sports’ 2021 California Defensive Player of the Year, and was selected to the All-American Bowl. He would be given a four-star recruit rating and enroll with Stanford in 2022.
His first college season at Stanford, he played 10 games with nine starts and immediately looked like a high-floor disruptive edge. He registered 46 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks, plus 13 quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles. The standout moments include a big day at UCLA where he posted 10 total tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. He followed that a week later against Washington State with nine total tackles and two tackles for loss. He earned True Freshman All-America recognition along with Stanford’s Outstanding Freshman award.
In his second year at Stanford, he played 10 games and led the team in sacks (five) and tackles for loss (six) while totaling 34 tackles. His defining performance that year was the opener at Hawai’i where he posted six tackles, four TFL and three sacks. He was named Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week for the monstrous performance that Stanford called the best defensive individual effort since 2014.
In his third year Stanford, Bailey was even more of a splash-play engine. He ended the year with 31 tackles with eight TFL and seven sacks, plus five forced fumbles and eight hurries. His season sack total was Stanford’s best since 2019 and he would also register 39 pressures on 364 defensive snaps, and his final game at Stanford against San Jose State he would create 10 pressures with one sack.
For his final year, Bailey transferred to Texas Tech as one of the headline portal additions in an aggressive roster build. On the field, he delivered a true blue-chip stat year. He had 52 tackles, 19.5 TFL, and 14.5 sacks across 14 games, plus three forced fumbles, 23 QB hurries and three pass breakups. He had a crazy three week period of the season where he notched up seven sacks, nine tackles for loss, and 16 total tackles. His massive season for the Red Raiders earned him first-team All-America, Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year, Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year, and first-team All-Big 12.
623 Defensive Snaps
81 Total Pressures
23 QB Hits
52 Total Tackles
19.5 TFL
14.5 Sack
3 PBU
3 FF
1 FR
7 Penalties
B-Gap- 1%
C-Gap- 9%
OLB- 89%
N/A
2022- True Freshman All-American
2022- Outstanding Freshman award
2024- All-ACC Academic Team
2025- Defensive Lineman of the Year
2025- All-Big 12 First Team
2025- First-team All-American
2025- Pony Express Award winner
Overall– 91.4
Speed- 93
Acceleration- 95
Agility- 90
Strength- 78
Tackling- 81
Run Defense- 74
Pass Rush- 97
Coverage- 81
Discipline- 84
- Elite first step and get-off that consistently wins the corner and stresses tackle timing immediately.
- Fantastic high-end speed and acceleration.
- Fluid bend and lateral agility.
- Strong speed-to-power conversion.
- Legitimate long-arm element to his game to collapse the pocket.
- A deep bag of pass-rush moves and active hands.
- Consistent pressure creation.
- Turnover creation as a rusher.
- Pursuit and closing burst to finish plays outside his alignment.
- A strong and functional athletic profile.
- Comfortable spot-dropping in coverage.
- Not a prototype edge frame. Undersized for an every-down NFL edge defender.
- Run-defense anchor can be spotty.
- Limited runway to add more functional mass.
- Lower-body stiffness and ankle tightness affects cornering and finishing.
- Counter plan consistency still needs refinement.
- NFL usage is best suited to be as a rush-first piece only.
- Discipline and emotional-control flags show temper issues and will be something teams will vet during the interview process.
Bailey projects best as a rush-first edge defender in an aggressive, pressure-oriented front that lets him attack from wide alignments and uses simulated pressures to keep him in advantageous situations. Ideally he’s best used as a 3-4 OLB or sub-package rusher who can win with burst and speed-to-power.
David Bailey is a pass rusher first and foremost. His job is to get to the quarterback, and that’s what he does best. He’s quick off the snap, he closes fast, and he has a good mix of moves that helps him create pressure even when opponents know he’s coming. That’s why he piles up sacks, tackles for loss, and forced fumbles. It’s simple, he’s disruptive and he finishes plays.
Where he’s still a work in progress is the dirty work parts of playing on the edge every snap. He isn’t the biggest or longest edge defender for the NFL, so bigger tackles can sometimes lock onto him and push him around in the run game. He can also get a bit too aggressive chasing the big play and losing his lane, which can open running or scrambling lanes if he isn’t careful.
Overall, he looks like a player who can be a very good NFL pass rusher early, especially on obvious passing downs, and if he improves his strength and consistency against the run, he has a path to becoming a full-time starter who produces sacks year after year.
Chop Robinson
9th
CONSENSUS OVERALL RANKING
8th
(Consensus ranking based on the average ranking from 90 major scoring services, including BTB)
