Kayvon Thibodeaux’s Thoughts on Not Being in the Conversation for Jaguars at No. 1

Thibodeaux is widely considered to be one of the most intriguing edge-rushing prospects coming out of the 2022 NFL Draft but recent mocks have him falling down draft boards.

Kayvon Thibodeaux had an outstanding college career at the University of Oregon. The uber-talented edge rusher was a 2021 1st- team AP All American, 2 time first team All Pac-12, and the recipient of the 2020 Morris Trophy, an annual award given to the top defensive lineman in the Pac-12. He was a consistent nightmare for opposing offensive lines and coordinators alike.

Despite all of these accolades, NFL mock drafts have mixed opinions on where he would get drafted. Some mocks had him going as high as #2 overall to the Detroit Lions with others having him fall outside of the top 10. 

When looking at his statistics and accolades it is fair to wonder why Thibodeaux doesn’t have a shot at being taken with the #1 overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars. As of this moment there are no indications that he is even in the conversation to be the #1 overall pick.

In an interview with NFL Network’s Andrew Siciliano, Thibodeaux explained how different viewpoints on his draft stock have led to mixed opinions on whether or not he would be considered for the #1 overall pick.

Kayvon Thibodeaux was asked by @AndrewSiciliano on NFL Network why isn’t he in that conversation to be the No. 1 overall pick in the #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/iCCf8NkrQ9

— Antwan V. Staley (@antwanstaley) April 26, 2022

“I mean it depends on who you talk to,” Thibodeaux said. 

“I feel like that’s with everything, it’s all about perspective, it’s all about, you know, what someone thinks. For me I’m just waiting it out and I’m excited to see what happens. I think I’ll be happy regardless of where I go, regardless of the situation just based on you know being in the right circumstances. I don’t want to be somewhere where it won’t be a good fit so as long as I end up where God has in store for me I’ll be happy.”

The Jaguars did not organize a pre-draft meeting with Thibodeaux and seem to have their sights set on another edge rushing prospect whether it be Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson or Georgia’s Travon Walker. 

However, smoke screens are a common tactic employed by teams to hide their true draft intentions and Thibodeaux could always be the guy for the Jags at the top of the draft. Amid the speculation Thibodeaux is keeping watch over how things unfold.

“All I know is you always worry about the person that says the least,” Thibodeaux said. “I feel like Jacksonville hasn’t said a lot and if you play spades you know to keep that hand to yourself.”

Besides edge rusher Jacksonville could choose to go with an offensive lineman at the top of the draft with Alabama’s Evan Neal, and NC State’s Ikem Ekwonu being the top prospects that teams are keeping an eye on. For Thibodeaux, he wouldn’t be too bothered if the Jags decided to go this route rather than drafting an edge rusher.

“I mean I don’t think I would feel any way regardless,” Thibodeaux said. “ I feel like we’ve all come to this point, we’ve all worked hard to get here so whatever team takes whatever player I feel like we’ll all be happy and rejoice together because at the end of the day we’ll all be in the league but I think, you know, when my time comes I’ll be able to rejoice with my family it’ll be a blessing.”

Thibodeaux’s NFL journey will begin tomorrow as the NFL Draft is set to kick off at 8 p.m.