David Bailey has Titans quarterback Cam Ward solely in his sights.
Bailey, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, told The Post’s “Gang’s All Here” podcast Wednesday that he’s not looking ahead to AFC East foes such as Josh Allen or Drake Maye twice apiece later in his rookie campaign with the Jets. He is firmly focused on limiting — and perhaps dropping — Ward in his NFL debut Sunday in Tennessee.
“I’m not really thinking about [divisional teams] right now, honestly. I’m thinking about it week by week,” the 23-year-old Bailey told hosts Brian Costello and Ryan Sampson. “I mean, we’re going [against] a good-ass quarterback right now. Obviously going against Cam Ward, he’s extremely elusive. He’s a good quarterback.
“So we’ve put together a plan to try and contain him…It’s going to be a group effort, but you know going against a specific quarterback, obviously you got to be cognizant of certain abilities they have and certain strengths they have. But my mindset, really, I don’t think it drastically changes from week to week. I think it’s pretty consistent in terms of what I want to get done and what I want to help the team with.”
Ward, the first overall pick in 2025, was sacked 55 times as a rookie with the Titans, tying returning Jets quarterback Geno Smith while a Raider for the league lead.
Bailey registered one sack during the preseason against the Steelers after totaling 14.5 last season at Texas Tech.
The 6-foot-3 edge rusher has cited eight-time Pro Bowler Von Miller — now with the Cowboys — as an outside linebacker he emulates.
“Von is, man, just the way he plays, man. When it’s all said and done, I want my highlight tape to look just like his, man,” Bailey said. But man, just the ways he gets after the quarterback, elite, it just seems like he always knows what to do. When his first move doesn’t work, he always has a counter ready.
“So, man, yeah, he’s just like the first that I really studied, for real.”
