Kayvon Thibodeaux Latest Duck to Face Confusing Criticism Ahead of NFL Draft

For three consecutive years, an Oregon Ducks prospect has faced confusing criticism.

Author:
Dylan Mickanen
Publish date:
Apr 1, 2022 10:42 AM EDT

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Oregon Ducks

It's becoming a pattern to see a highly-successful Oregon prospect fall ahead of their respective NFL Draft and Kayvon Thibodeaux is the latest victim.

Long viewed as the top prospect in the 2022 NFL Draft, the latest mock drafts have the nation's former No. 1 recruit nearly falling outside the top-ten despite the quarterback class being underwhelming.

At least when Penei Sewell fell to No. 7 in 2021 three quarterbacks went before him in the first three picks, deflating Sewell's draft slot. That's not the case with Thibodeaux with only Malik Willis seen as a top-ten level prospect (maybe Kenny Pickett gets in there too due to positional scarcity).

Instead of falling due to a quarterback craze, Thibodeaux has basically been called lazy by draft experts, inside and outside the NFL.

NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah said he "isn't an elite bender" and also cited "spotty" effort, a similar comment that has made headlines in the past two months. ESPN's Todd McShay remarked in February that there were concerns from NFL teams that Thibodeaux "doesn't play with the same fire as other prospects."

Unfortunately this has become a reoccurring issue for Oregon prospects ever since Mario Cristobal became the Ducks head coach.

In 2020, Justin Herbert was scrutinized over an inability to lead or read opposing defenses for months. Los Angeles ignored those "red flags," drafted the Senior Bowl MVP sixth overall and he won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Meanwhile the Dolphins drafted Tua Tagovaolia instead, and two years later are doing PR-damage control after failing to land Deshaun Watson.

The next year Sewell slid and Thibodeaux appears to be following suit.

Other NFL reporters have said there have been concerns over Thibodeaux's desire to build his own brand. To those NFL front offices I say "Welcome to the NIL era of college football."

A player reportedly signed an $8 million NIL deal with a clause tying them to a particular school. It's far more likely Thibodeaux's view on creating a brand off the field becomes more and more popular among the draft pool, especially with the lucrative amounts of money available to these players as high schoolers.

It's no secret Thibodeaux embraced NIL more than most athletes, selling NFTs and partnering with numerous other companies, but that has nothing to do with his ability on the field.

There was nothing put on film that should create cause for concern among NFL front offices.

As a true freshman, he was a Freshman All-American with 9.0 sacks in his lone full season.

His sophomore season was cut short due to COVID-19 and was highlighted by a Pac-12 Championship MVP performance that included 12 quarterback hurries. Who was largely blocking him in that game? Alijah Vera-Tucker, who was selected 14th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Then as as junior, he looked dominant until getting rolled up on and missing a solid chunk of the season. Despite being unable to play, he cheered on his teammates from the sidelines before returning to the field. Once unleashed, he dominated opposing Pac-12 teams. In one half against Cal, he registered 11 pressures on 22 pass rush snaps. Pretty good for a player giving minimal effort.

It's reasonable to say Thibodeaux isn't the same level as a Myles Garrett or Joey Bosa and that's okay. Whoever ignores the dumb concerns being leaked to prominent media members will still have a player who can single-handily ruin an offense's passing attack.

In the modern NFL that's invaluable, especially in the postseason when you'll need to defeat prolific quarterback after prolific quarterback.

Teams drafting high enough to pass up Thibodeaux may be losers for a reason.