Kayvon Thibodeaux gives his side of NFL Draft narrative, process

Several NFL teams have reportedly questioned Oregon star edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux‘s character heading into Thursday’s 2022 NFL Draft. Despite these allegations, the former five-star recruit is slotted firmly in the high first round in many expert’s mock drafts.

According to Thibodeaux, however, what you see is what you get. This past season, Thibodeaux totaled 49 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, seven sacks, and two forced fumbles. In three years at Oregon, he racked up 126 tackles, 35.5 tackles for loss, 19 sacks, and three forced fumbles — that’s the Thibodeaux NFL teams should expect.

“It’s not what you think it is. There’s a lot of curveballs. There’s a lot of stuff other than football that go into it. A lot of politics,” Thibodeaux said. “Just the media aspect of it — how things are portrayed and how narratives are written.”

One aspect of Thibodeaux’s aspirations include being labeled as more than just an athlete. Striving for a large social media following and looking to break into the broadcasting business following his football ventures. Concerns surround his draft status, noting Thibodeaux had more desire to build his brand than be a great football player while others question his effort.

“I’ve been critiqued my whole life, so that’s not new. It’s just tough when people who aren’t in my situation don’t know how to handle it, particularly my family, my mom, when they see a story that is challenging my character. Critiquing is one thing. Misinformation is another,” Thibodeaux said. “There’s been a lot of misinformation.”

Matt Miller of ESPN released an updated seven-round mock draft on Tuesday that projected Thibodeaux will be selected by the New York Giants with the fifth overall pick. Miller believes that two edge rushers will be selected ahead of the former Oregon star with the Jacksonville Jaguars will take Georgia defensive end Travon Walker No. 1 overall, and the Detroit Lions will take defensive end Aidan Hutchinson No. 2 overall.

“It’d be dope to go to New York. I’d be happy to play for either team honestly if they pick me,” Thibodeaux said. “But I took my chips, preferences out of it a while ago. I’m just ready to see where I end up.”

The first round of the 2022 NFL Draft will begin at 5 p.m. PT Thursday with ESPN and the NFL Network carrying the national broadcasts throughout the weekend, continuing with the second and third rounds at 4 p.m. Friday. It will conclude Saturday with the final three rounds, beginning at 9 a.m.