The most glaring lack of an impact player on the Baltimore Ravens defense is at edge rusher, where the franchise chose to rely on 34-year-old veteran Kyle Van Noy in 2025 instead of make a significant move in free agency, the NFL draft or at the NFL trade deadline.
To that end, it’s safe to say the Ravens are going to look long and hard at taking an edge rusher in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft, where ESPN’s Matt Miller predicts they’ll select Texas Tech star and current FBS sacks leader David Bailey in his latest mock draft.
Bailey, 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, has 12.5 sacks through 11 games for the Red Raiders, who are 10-1 and have an inside track to make the College Football Playoff for the first time.
“The Ravens still lack impact pass rushers who can operate in space and have only 15 sacks this season (tied for 29th in the NFL),” Miller wrote on November 19. “Bailey, who leads the FBS in sacks (12.5) and ranks second in hurries (55), has been a nightmare for offenses since transferring from Stanford before the season … After starting the season as a Day 2 prospect, he has quickly played his way into the top 20.”
Bailey Transferred From Stanford to Big 12
Bailey was a 3-year starter at Stanford from 2022 to 2024, racking up 14.5 sacks, 22.5 TFL and 111 tackles in that stretch. Bailey earned his Bachelor’s degree in science and technology from Stanford in less than 4 years and transferred to Texas Tech as a graduate student.
“David Bailey is an impressive athlete, who has a deep bag of pass-rush moves to be a significant contributor on third downs in the NFL,” Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder wrote on his pre-draft scouting report. “Bailey is a 6’3″, 250-pound edge defender prospect who originally went to Stanford as a 4-star recruit in the 2022 class. He was an immediate starter for the Cardinal, racking up 46 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks as a freshman to be named a true freshman All-American.”
Bailey has been a revelation in his first season playing for Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire.
“David Bailey has 12.5 sacks so far this year, which leads the FBS,” Bears reporter and NFL draft analyst Jacob Infante wrote on his official X account on November 15. “Look at that bend. I don’t care if he’s smaller than Dennis Allen’s type. At a certain point, you need to take the superior talent. I’d love Bailey on the Bears.”
“Fast, bendy, explosive,” NFL draft analyst Brandon Deutsch wrote on his official X account. “Undersized for full-time EDGE, but Day 1 pass-rush juice is undeniable.”
“Even when Texas Tech’s David Bailey isn’t rushing the passer he’s making impact plays,” SBR Review’s Bobby Football wrote on X.
Some weren’t quite as sold on some of Bailey’s inconsistencies in his game. He’s also an inch or 2 shorter than most edge rushers taken in the first round.
“David Bailey would go No. 1 overall if offenses had to announce whether they were going to run or pass before the play starts and the defense could substitute based off that info,” NFL Draft Files wrote on its official X account on November 20. “Just insane disparity in this guy’s love and aptitude for defending the two phases of the game.”
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