{"id":869308,"date":"2026-04-18T17:24:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T17:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/869308\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T17:24:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T17:24:32","slug":"configuring-the-new-york-jets-depth-chart-with-david-bailey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/869308\/","title":{"rendered":"Configuring the New York Jets depth chart with David Bailey"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2026 NFL draft<\/a> is less than one week away, and the New York Jets\u2019 pick at No. 2 remains unknown.<\/p>\n

While the debate has centered on David Bailey and Arvell Reese, recent reports<\/a> have painted Bailey as the perceived favorite around the league.<\/p>\n

If the Jets ultimately go that route, the question becomes, \u201cHow would the Jets deploy Bailey across their defensive looks?\u201d<\/p>\n

4-3 base<\/p>\n

DE (Strong): Joseph Ossai<\/p>\n

DT: T\u2019Vondre Sweat<\/p>\n

DT: Harrison Phillips<\/p>\n

DE (Weak): Will McDonald<\/p>\n

As Aaron Glenn shared<\/a> at the NFL\u2019s annual owners meetings, the Jets will use multiple defensive fronts this season. In today\u2019s NFL, the difference between a 3-4 and 4-3 base is largely negligible when 11 personnel is thrown into the equation. <\/p>\n

In a 4-3 base, Bailey may not have an immediate starting role. Despite a 4-3 being an even front, defensive ends are required to play with discipline, which is questionable with Bailey<\/a>. Also, DEs need to set the edge and hold their own against the run, which Bailey also struggles to do.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, he is often displaced at the point of attack and struggles to play within structure, which is another issue. <\/p>\n

He can\u2019t be trusted to start right away in a 4-3 base.<\/p>\n

3-4 base<\/p>\n

DT: Jowon Briggs<\/p>\n

NT: T\u2019Vondre Sweat<\/p>\n

DT: Harrison Phillips<\/p>\n

OLB (SAM): Joseph Ossai<\/p>\n

OLB (JACK): Kingsley Enagbare<\/p>\n

In a 3-4 base, it is even more difficult to project where Bailey would fit. Outside linebackers in this set, especially the Jack, must be complete edge defenders. They are responsible for setting a strong edge and maintaining outside leverage while playing with strong gap integrity.<\/p>\n

As noted in the prior section, Bailey\u2019s tape raises concerns in each of those areas. Not only does he struggle to hold up at the point of attack, but he also often abandons his assignment to pursue a splash play. <\/p>\n

Those habits are exactly why he can\u2019t be trusted to be a three-down player in his rookie season.<\/p>\n

Nickel<\/p>\n

Now this is a clean fit.<\/p>\n

DE: David Bailey<\/p>\n

DT: David Onyemata<\/p>\n

DT: Harrison Phillips<\/p>\n

DE: Will McDonald<\/p>\n

On the surface, this is where Bailey fits best.<\/p>\n

In a 4-2-5 look, Bailey can line up wide and focus on what he does best: pin his ears back and rush the passer. <\/p>\n

By not having to take on such a substantial responsibility as a run defender, it is a much simpler role for the Texas Tech product, allowing him to lean into his quick burst\/get-off.<\/p>\n

Overall<\/p>\n

Jet X\u2019s Robby Sabo explained it best<\/a>: Bailey\u2019s deficiencies should disqualify him as an option for the Jets at No. 2. <\/p>\n

There is no doubt he is a talented pass-rusher, but the position is edge defender \u2014 not edge rusher. Edge rusher folds into edge defender as just one action of potentially hundreds of responsibilities.<\/p>\n

As evidenced by this exercise, his impact is significantly limited from the outset. Furthermore, the question becomes: how much more room for growth does he have, given that he will turn 23 before his rookie season begins? <\/p>\n

It\u2019s far from a guarantee that he will develop into a viable run-defender in the pros.<\/p>\n

Arvell Reese is the clear pick for the Jets, and it\u2019s not even close. Not only does he modernize the team\u2019s defense<\/a>, but he also optimizes the depth chart <\/a>in a way that Bailey doesn\u2019t even come close to doing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 NFL draft is less than one week away, and the New York Jets\u2019 pick at No.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":869309,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2051],"tags":[1585,4155,11413,6838,198,7,3228,23807,226,9256,4096,1917,255,2321,2097,6,4403,6531,7823,3916,3232,3234,20209,20113],"class_list":{"0":"post-869308","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-jets","8":"tag-aaron-glenn","9":"tag-david-bailey","10":"tag-david-onyemata","11":"tag-demario-davis","12":"tag-featured","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-free-content","15":"tag-jamien-sherwood","16":"tag-jets","17":"tag-joseph-ossai","18":"tag-kingsley-enagbare","19":"tag-new-york","20":"tag-new-york-jets","21":"tag-newyork","22":"tag-newyorkjets","23":"tag-nfl","24":"tag-ny-jets-coaches","25":"tag-ny-jets-column","26":"tag-ny-jets-image","27":"tag-ny-jets-players","28":"tag-ny-jets-roster-depth-chart","29":"tag-standard","30":"tag-tvondre-sweat","31":"tag-will-mcdonald"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116426877424735206","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=869308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/869309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=869308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=869308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=869308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}