Potential Cardinals 1st-round pick David Bailey rips through 40-yard dash

Texas Tech pass rusher David Bailey may have just solidified his spot as a high first-round pick after Thursday’s showing at the NFL Draft Combine.

Texas Tech DL David Bailey with a scorching 4.51 40. Goodness. pic.twitter.com/7F9lu4TCBA

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 26, 2026

Bailey turned heads during his first attempt at the 40-yard dash with a 4.51-second time. He finished with an official 4.50-second 40-yard dash, which ranked second among all edge rusher prospects behind only Arvell Reese’s 4.46-second run, and Bailey posted the eighth-fastest 10-yard split.

He didn’t stop there, either, posting a 10-foot, nine-inch broad jump.

That was good enough for third among edge rusher prospects.

Texas Tech’s David Bailey just landed this 10’9” broad jump pic.twitter.com/Ewh6Hwoqme

— StaceyDales (@StaceyDales) February 26, 2026

The 6-foot-3, 251-pounder has been a prospect to watch at the combine this week after pacing the FBS in sacks with 14.5. He also led the Big 12 in tackles for loss with 19.5.

On top of meeting with the Cardinals this week, Bailey was most recently mocked to the Cardinals’ No. 3 overall pick by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.

“David Bailey provides a little bit more certainty just in terms of you’ve seen him play out there,” NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said last week. “You’ve seen the production. I think it’s pretty easy to see that translate and is why teams are going to have him as the top guy.”

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