Arvell Reese or David Bailey? Debating Jets' top option in 2026 NFL Draft
The 2026 NFL Draft unofficially will start with the No. 2 overall pick, as the Las Vegas Raiders are effectively locked into taking Fernando Mendoza with the draft's top selection.
The New York Jets own the draft's second selection. What will they do with the pick? New York is widely expected to take a pass rusher, and Ohio State's Arvell Reese and Texas Tech's David Bailey are the two believed to be jockeying to be the choice.
Reese and Bailey can each stake a claim toward being the draft's top defensive talent. Reese is a unique, hybrid player who is still developing after being a one-year starter for the Buckeyes. He generated 6.5 sacks while playing both off-ball linebacker and on the edge and has the athletic potential needed to turn into an NFL star.
As for Bailey, he was extremely productive during his college career. He notched eight sacks his final year at Stanford before posting an FBS-high 14.5 sacks in his lone season at Texas Tech.
Which of these two players should the Jets select with the No. 2 overall pick? USA TODAY Sports' Chris Bumbaca and Jacob Camenker debated the topic while doing a joint mock draft in a recent episode of its "Sports Seriously" NFL podcast.
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Camenker got to make the pick for the Jets and chose Bailey for the role. His reasoning? New York needs to bank on the "safe option" as it looks to bounce back from a largely noncompetitive 3-14 season.
"The Jets are weirdly in a situation where they have to win now," Camenker said. "Aaron Glenn's going into the season on the hot seat, so I think they're going to look at Bailey and say, 'Hey, this guy's a pro-ready pass rusher. He's got great bend and speed off the edge. He was super productive in his lone season at Texas Tech.'"
Bumbaca wanted to go in the other direction. While he agreed with Camenker's assessment that the Jets need to win now, he opined Reese had the better long-term ceiling, which could matter more to Jets general manager Darren Mougey than anything else.
"He's not the one turning the card in at the end of the day," Bumbaca said of Glenn. "It's Mougey. I feel like they are just on separate timelines. This is how the Jets do things. I'm going Arvell Reese at two because I just think Mougey is taking the longer view here."
For more discussion of the Jets' options at No. 2 overall, where Ty Simpson may land and a full, first-round mock, click here to watch the Sports Seriously podcast or check out the video below.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jets draft options: Is Arvell Reese or David Bailey best fit?