Harrison Phillips was asked what he’s seen from rookie edge rusher David Bailey so far in Jets training camp.
“I see him in the backfield all the time,” the veteran defensive tackle said. “Oh my gosh.”
Bailey has been hard not to notice early in camp.
He has been a game wrecker both against the pass and the run.
He was the star of practice on Thursday when he had what would have been three sacks if there was tackling.
He had a quieter practice Saturday, as second-year right tackle Armand Membou won more of the battles, but Bailey still had his moments, including a would-be tackle for loss on Breece Hall.
There are high hopes for Bailey in his rookie season.
The Jets selected him with the second overall pick over Arvell Reese in part because of his ability to have an instant impact.
Bailey knows what is expected of him.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say I feel pressure. It’s in the back of your mind,” Bailey said. “You know you’re the No. 2 pick. You know there are high expectations from the fans, and also from teammates and the staff and everything. I try to not let that get to me. I try to say nothing has changed honestly. If I want to be the best, I’ve got certain things I need to do.”
Bailey has looked the part so far.
The next test will be Monday when the pads come on.
The daily battles between Bailey and Membou are some of the highlights of Jets camp.
“Membou, man, he’s a really good player,” Bailey said. “Great feet, low center of gravity, he’s strong, like extremely strong, like ridiculously strong. He’s been getting me better, and I hope I’ve been getting him better. He’s been a great person to work on my skill set and challenge me on the field.”
Do they talk trash to each other?
“A little bit here and there,” Bailey said. “We’re both pretty taciturn people. It’s football, so naturally sometimes we get into it.”
That may have been the first time “taciturn” was ever used in a training camp press conference.
It shows that Bailey, who played at Stanford then Texas Tech, has intelligence as well as his physical skills.
Bailey seems mature at 22 years old.
He said the adjustment to the NFL has not been that hard because he felt like he began to make that transition last year by taking a more professional approach to his game.
“I feel like I took that step at Texas Tech to operate and to function like a pro,” Bailey said. “I would say the transition really hasn’t been too difficult or too different, but I’m playing against the best in the world, so it’s a little bit different in that regard.”
