For a second-overall pick, David Bailey flew relatively far beneath the radar through the first few weeks of his NFL career.
All of that has changed after a breakout Week 5 performance that garnered him the honors of both AFC Defensive Player of the Week and Pepsi Rookie of the Week. Bailey racked up three sacks, vaulting the New York Jets’ rookie to No. 4 on the NFL’s sack list entering Week 6.
Suddenly, the edge rusher is the New York sports star he was destined to be, and the whole world wants to know the man behind the sacks.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Bailey revealed the major lifestyle change that he made at the start of his rookie year: deleting Instagram.
“I feel like I spent too much time on Instagram,” said Bailey. “So, I kind of just gave myself a little bit of a break. I don’t really know how long that break is gonna go, if I feel the need to download it again, I’ll get it. For now, I’m good.”
Bailey explained what drove him away from the evil, time-sucking, attention-span-reducing application.
“You kind of start scrolling, you got your reels, which are pretty addicting. So, I just felt like I was spending too much time on it. I felt like that was time I could’ve devoted to other things, maybe putting more time into my body, studying the playbook, or just other productive things I could’ve been doing.”
Bailey also admitted that he has never had an X/Twitter account. Smart man.
As Bailey’s on-field game blossoms in important ways, he also continues to show that he has a tremendous head on his shoulders off the field. The Jets and their fans should feel confident about not just the player they invested in with the second pick, but also the young man.
