FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — David Bailey is already making his presence felt only three training camp practices into his NFL career.
Just ask the edge rusher’s impressed New York Jets teammates and coaches.
“I see him in the backfield all the time,” defensive tackle Harrison Phillips said with a laugh Saturday. “I mean, oh my gosh.”
The No. 2 overall pick out of Texas Tech in April is off to a fast start this summer. During the Jets’ second practice of camp on Thursday, he was credited with three “sacks” — there’s no contact on quarterbacks, of course — with one during which he bull-rushed right tackle Armand Membou and buzzed past running back Breece Hall to get to Geno Smith.
“Oh, he’s gonna be phenomenal,” defensive lineman Kingsley Enagbare gushed. “He’s going to have a long, long career. The sky’s the limit for that dude. He can literally do it all: He can stop the run, he can rush the passer.”
That’s a talent-filled package the Jets fell in love with leading to the draft.
And Bailey understands that, along with the responsibility that comes with being such a high selection.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say I feel pressure,” Bailey said. “It’s in the back of your mind. Like, you know you’re the No. 2 pick, you know there’s high expectations just from the fans and also from teammates and the staff and everything. But I try to like not let that get to me. I try to say really nothing has changed, honestly.
“Like in terms of if I want to be the best, I’ve got certain things that I need to do.”
On that list: getting a deep understanding of Aaron Glenn’s playbook on defense, studying videos, taking care of his body as a pro and watching other pass rushers he’s trying to emulate.
Bailey said Von Miller is the first player he thoroughly studied, especially since the 6-foot-3, 251-pound rookie has a similar physical makeup. But he has also focused on players such as Aidan Hutchinson and Myles Garrett.
“I realize that I have my own personal game,” Bailey said. “So it’s kind of like it’s a process in selecting what you think that you can add to your bag, but then also maybe make certain tweaks in terms of how you’re going to run it on the field.”
Bailey was the highest-selected defensive player taken in the NFL draft in Jets history and considered by many the most pro-ready edge rusher. After transferring to Texas Tech, he had 14 1/2 sacks last season — his combined total in three seasons at Stanford — with 52 tackles, 19 1/2 tackles and three forced fumbles, all on strip sacks.
“Bro, it’s the best feeling in the world,” a smiling Bailey said of getting sacks.
With the Jets, Bailey is expected to be used as an outside linebacker in the base defense and at defensive end in other situations. And he has enough overall talent and athleticism to be moved around in pass rushing situations.
“Obviously they selected me for my pass rushing ability, but also I just want to be able to bring a lot of energy to the team,” he said. “Being kind of a younger guy, man, I feel like it’s my responsibility to bring a lot of juice and to also rely on the understanding of the older guys and just being there and helping them in any way possible.”
Bailey is already taking snaps with the starters, and more than holding his own. He wasn’t as disruptive during practice Saturday as he was Thursday, with Membou — the Jets’ first-round pick last year — mostly keeping him at bay.
“He’s been getting me better,” Bailey said. “And I hope I’ve been getting him better.”
The Jets are off Sunday, but return to practice Monday — the first session during which the players will wear full pads. That’ll be the next step in the team’s evaluation of Bailey, who’ll be able to show off the physical side of his game.
“Yeah, he’s everything that we expect him to be and it’ll be real exciting once we get the pads on,” Glenn said. “I think we all understand through these acclamation days, we’re still in shorts. But just to be able to see the energy and the speed and the quickness off the edge and the ability to hold a strong edge and the way that he wants to play the run game, it’s everything that I imagined from that player.”
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