David Bailey, EDGE, Texas Tech
Another option in the pass rush would be David Bailey. An older prospect than Downs or Bain, Bailey has been productive for his entire four-year collegiate career. In his first three seasons, he was with Stanford. There, he amassed 111 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks, a pass breakup, and a ridiculous seven forced fumbles.
After the 2024 season, he joined the Red Raiders’ incredible portal haul and led Texas Tech to the CFP for the first time. In his 14 games, Bailey totaled 52 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks, three pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.
If the Bengals want a guy who was productive in college and would not need much molding, Bailey is the pick. He was a unanimous All-American this year and rocketed up draft boards in his breakout campaign. Anyone who watched the Orange Bowl loss to Oregon could see that he is a game-wrecker.
#TexasTech EDGE David Bailey vs. Oregon
One of the best games that I’ve seen from a defensive prospect this year. Watch how much juice and violence he plays with. pic.twitter.com/EB5WGlWjzk
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) January 2, 2026
There will be character concerns, however. He was tossed from a game against NC State while at Stanford for brutally stomping on the head of a Wolfpack player. This year, he got into an altercation with a cameraperson after the loss to Arizona State, for some reason.
That could all be explained away as him being a competitor or just letting his emotions run unchecked. He has the talent to be the Bengals’ first-round pick, and we know the team has overlooked character concerns in the past.
Surely, this will all be fleshed out in the Scouting Combine interviews, right?
