Jets top pick David Bailey, and the defensive line as a whole, need to be much better

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The Jets need more from David Bailey, as well as everyone else across the defensive line. That group hasn’t generated much of a pass rush.

It’s a collective thing, but Bailey was the No. 2 pick in the draft. He was expected to elevate the Jets’ pass rush and make them a more disruptive defense. Whether it’s fair or not to put those expectations on a rookie, they’re there — and Bailey has yet to make an impact as an edge rusher. However, the Jets have no doubt he will.

“We have a ton of games left,” Aaron Glenn said. “He will make impact plays.”

Bailey is having an impact, but not in the way that was anticipated based on his pass-rushing prowess in college and what he showed in training camp.

His 14 1⁄2 sacks for Texas Tech last season were tied for the most in the nation. The Jets were confident that his combination of speed, quickness and power would translate to the NFL. They took him over versatile Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese, who went three picks later to the Giants.

The Jets’ scouting report on Bailey tracked in the summer and preseason. He beat tackles often with his speed coming around the edge and his quick spin move. It looked good, but it probably was overhyped. Those practices are misleading because they’re generally not that physical and many days are without pads.

In his second preseason game, Bailey used his power against former Steelers tackle Broderick Jones to sack Will Howard. That was legit, but it hasn’t carried over to the regular season.

Bailey has two sacks through his first four games. Neither stood out or was impactful.

The first came when Titans quarterback Cam Ward ran out of bounds in Week 1, with Bailey closing in from the front side. Bailey was the closest defender and got credited for his first NFL sack. The second was when he brought down scrambling Jordan Love on the first play against the Packers in Week 2.

Since then, Bailey has played 159 snaps without recording a sack. He’s been close, but not close enough.

“He’s still learning, he’s still growing. He’s going to be a damn good player in this league,” Glenn said. “We know that. We want to turn those ‘we’re this-close’ [plays] to ‘we made it.’ That’s what we’re working on with him.”

Glenn added that Bailey is matched up with “a top-level player every week . . . the best of the best” and has to come up with different plans of attack against them. He also noted that other Jets are making plays because of him.

That is true. Bailey is garnering a lot of attention. He’s also playing some outside linebacker and dropping into coverage in Glenn’s multi-front defense. Defensive coordinator Brian Duker noted that safety Andre Cisco’s sack in Detroit came when Bailey dropped back.

Bailey’s run defense has been better than advertised. He has 13 tackles against the run, according to Pro Football Focus. This is a positive development, as that part of his game was suspect.

“Dave is a playmaker,” edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare told Newsday. “He’s always around the ball. He got great hustle. He’s always chasing the ball back side. He’s always making a play on the ball.

“Even though he doesn’t have the sacks, he has the pressures. He’s right there. He’s 0.5 seconds away from — give or take — double-digit sacks right now. Just stay true to the process and everything’s just going to fall in place.”

The reality is, Bailey will be judged by how disruptive he is, whether it’s a sack, strip sack, hurry or pressure. The bigger issue remains the overall play of the line and the lack of push the Jets are getting up front. Duker said they’re still learning to rush off each other.

Still, no Jet defensive lineman has had a sack in the last two games. It’s not as bad as the Jets’ interception drought, which finally ended at 20 games last week in Chicago, but it’s significant.

Will McDonald’s one sack came in the fourth quarter of Week 1. Joseph Ossai, whom the Jets signed to a three-year, $34.5 million contract, has no sacks, pressures or quarterback hits in 85 snaps. Enagbare has two sacks. Tackle Jowon Briggs has one.

Enagbare is the last Jets defensive lineman to record a sack — on the final play of regulation against the Packers.

“I think every D-line group or every team goes through a little phase,” he said. “We know we got some good players in our room. Just staying true to us and everything will work out.”

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.