It is much too soon to be chiseling any opinions about the Jets' draft class in stone.

But David Bailey, on his first day of Green & White rookie minicamp, looks and sounds like the real deal.

"It's a blessing, honestly, man," Bailey, the Jets' second overall pick of the recent draft, told reporters Friday about getting back to football after all the training he and his fellow draftmates went through for their predraft song-and-dance. "I had a great experience with the combine and everything, but the main thing is I'm a football player. That's what I want to do is just get back to playing football. It's been a lot of fun getting out here and putting on my helmet for a long time."

Before Bailey slipped into his new green hat, he started the day with some paperwork, signing his rookie contract before going out to practice at the Atlantic Health Training Center. He was only a half-day behind first-round TE Kenyon Sadiq, who signed his rookie pact Thursday night. Still, Bailey checks in, at 16 days, with the third-quickest time in the last decade from the day a Jets top pick was drafted to the day he signed on the dotted line. (CB Sauce Gardner signed in 10 days in 2022, T Armand Membou in 15 days last spring.)

Then the draft's best edge rusher took to the field. These are not the days for Bailey to unveil his trademark bull slip, ghost and spin pass rush moves but for getting his feet wet as a Jet and soaking up a whole new playbook and mentality less than a year after leaving Texas Tech.

"Right now, number one is to build a great relationship with my position coach and Coach Glenn and everybody," he said. "Then start honing in on the playbook, absorbing as much information as I can, getting as comfortable with it as I can so I can just be focusing in on things and making sure the plays are coming second-nature."

Aaron Glenn is well aware that only so much additional information can be gleaned in May about how the young men in front of him in shirts and shorts will perform in September. But he continues to be impressed with the Jets' new No. 31, and not just because Bailey happened to choose the same uniform number that Glenn first selected as the Jets' top pick in 1994.

"He's a very intelligent man, so that part we knew wasn't going to be an issue," Glenn said, "just being able to function as far as communicating with the coaches back and forth, communicating with the players in the meeting room. And then, once he got on the grass, you could tell he has that first-step quickness that we all knew. He's going to be an exciting guy to coach, I can tell you that."

One thing that comes through from Bailey at this stage of his rookie journey is that he has a degree of fearlessness. About being coached hard, for one thing. He seems to welcome it, from Glenn and from his D-line coach, Karl Dunbar.

About AG, he said: "He's intense on the field. He was going around throughout the whole indies [individual drills] and checking us out. He's a great man. He gives props when props are needed and also gives great coaching, stern coaching, when it's needed."

And he called Dunbar "kind of interesting. He's got two sides. He's a very fun, jovial guy, but also he's a very stern coach who takes his job very seriously. So I'm grateful to be under him and just relying on his teaching and coaching."

There is plenty of time for all the other stuff to play out. Bailey will team up for the first time with fellow edge Will McDonald when he joins the Jets' offseason program after the rookie camp. Bailey said he's watched some video on McDonald and provided a scouting report for the perhaps dynamic duo: "I think we're around the same size, similar skill sets. He's a great player, too, so I'm looking forward to getting with him."

Bailey also doesn't shy away from the seemingly only criticism that draft analysts came up with, which was his run defense. He whipped one of his patented ghost moves, which for the moment had any questioners blocking at nothing while he moves in for the kill.

"I'm confident in my ability to play the run, I'm confident in Coach Glenn's plan for me," he said. "I'm sure he's going to give me the best opportunity for success and put me in the position where he sees me thriving. So I'm confident in my ability but there's always room for improvement."