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WATCH: Kayvon Thibodeaux shows off blazing speed in 40-yard dash

Chandler Vesselsby: Chandler Vessels03/05/22ChandlerVessels
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Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux proved his draft hype is well-deserved with his 40-yard dash time Saturday at the NFL Scouting Combine. Thibodeaux posted an impressive 4.65 on his first run of the day, in addition to a 1.62 in the 10-yard split drill.

For those who have been following the career of the talented Thibodeaux, this is far from surprising. He entered Saturday’s combine as the potential No. 1 pick and the top-ranked prospect according to CBS Sports’ big board. His performance only confirms the belief of many that he will be a star at the next level.

Thibodeaux came to Oregon as a five-star prospect and the No. 1 edge defender in the 2019 class according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. He immediately made an impact as a freshman, finishing with a team-high nine sacks and 14 tackles for loss. The defensive end again led Oregon this past season with seven sacks despite playing in just 10 games.

Following his impressive showing in the 40-yard dash, Thibodeaux made the surprising announcement that he would not participate in the remainder of the NFL Combine. According to a report from NFL Network’s Stacey Dale, the Oregon product will instead opt to participate in both defensive line and linebacker drills at the Ducks’ Pro Day.

“I just talked to Kayvon Thibodeaux,” Dale reported. “He just put his sweats on and is done for the day because he told me the (defensive) line is working right now and he wants to both (linebacker and defensive line drills). He’s going to wait for his Pro Day so he can do linebacker and defensive line drills. He wants to get it all wrapped up in one day.”

Both the defensive lineman and linebackers participated Saturday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. However, Thibodeaux was scheduled to participate only in the defensive lineman drills. Opting to wait until Oregon’s Pro Day will offer him the opportunity to show off his versatility to teams considering taking him.

In addition to the 40-yard dash and 10-yard split, Thibodeaux also put up 27 reps on the bench press. Despite those impressive numbers, the Oregon defensive end wasn’t happy with his day.

“He wasn’t totally pleased with it,” Dale said on air. “He thought it was OK on average for him. He had a good split, he said. Just didn’t finish as well as he wanted to on the back end. So he wasn’t necessarily pleased overall with the day, but again with the D-line working now, he wants to work both linebacker and D-line drills and do it all on his Pro Day.”