The 2025 college football season is the year of Arvell Reese. He has the hype, the distant Heisman hopes, the odds to be the first non-quarterback taken in April.
But he isn't the only edge rusher seeing his stock skyrocket this season.
Texas Tech Red Raiders edge rusher David Bailey was the most sought-after defender on the transfer portal. His first season in Lubbock has been a massive success, and he's answered the questions holding him out of Round 1.
What's stopping David Bailey?
On my initial big board, Bailey snuck in as a high-variance Day 2 option. The pass rush talent was obvious -- he bends well, explodes off the line, and operates with strong technique.
However, at 6'3", 250 pounds, there were concerns about his size, particularly as it relates to defending the run. It was a profile-defining concern that pumped the brakes on his hype. It simply isn't feasible to play an undersized edge rusher full-time without the ability to impact the ground game and not suffer on early downs.
Doing so rendered Bailey as a potential rotational option in the mold of Azeez Ojulari.
Through 10 games of Big 12 play, Bailey has thrust himself up draft boards. He is defending the run at the highest level of his career and racking up splash plays in the process. Subsequently, Bailey's box scores have leaped off the page, spilling black ink over his profile.
David Bailey vs Houston is the lone leader for best single-game performance by a prospect I've seen so far this draft cycle. My god pic.twitter.com/XTGnodRBsa
— Drew Beatty (@IronCityFilm) October 26, 2025
Bailey currently leads the conference with 15 tackles for loss -- more than his prior two seasons combined. He leads the country in sacks (11.5). If using Pro Football Focus grades as a proxy is more your flavor, his run defense grade (74.2) ranks 53rd among the 182 edge rushers with at least 150 snaps against the run. We're watching a player take himself to another level; it's only a matter of time until his draft stock reflects that.
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This is a prospect at a high-value position with elite athletic tools, conference-best production, and tangible development. Few players are having a better platform season, and he's doing it while headlining a defense on a No. 8 Red Raiders team. He played well against a highly-ranked BYU squad and dominated a three-game stretch of conference play, generating nine tackles for loss, seven sacks, and two forced fumbles.
The only question Bailey has to answer is how much time he'll get to spend celebrating after his selection on Day 1. Texas Tech has a top-15 pick on the edge, and Bailey is adding to his case every Saturday.
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