New York Giants OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux Expecting Big Things
Kayvon Thibodeaux, Outside Linebacker
Height: 6-foot-5 | Weight: 258 pounds
2022 Stats: GP 14 / GS 14. 49 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 13 QB Hits, 5 PBUs, 2 forced fumbles
New York Giants edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, the team’s top first-round draft choice, came to New York with a lot of expectations and hope that the Giants had finally found a legitimate stud pass rusher to pair with Azeez Ojulari.
While the early returns are positive, Thibodeaux's rookie campaign was slightly derailed thanks to a pre-season knee injury that cost him the first two games of the regular season.
The missed time, as expected, put him a little behind the curve, but thanks to his work ethic and high football IQ, Thibodeaux began to find his footing, receiving at least 80 percent of the snaps and growing more and more comfortable each passing week.
There is much to like about Thibodeaux's game. Besides his pass-rushing ability, where he could consistently attack the pocket, he was solid in run defense. Even though his sack and pressure numbers look pedestrian for a Top-10 draft pick, Thibodeaux's presence often opened up opportunities for others to make plays when opposing offenses were locked in on trying to neutralize the threat he posed.
Thibodeaux had his breakout game in the second meeting with the Commanders, recording a strip sack/recovery/touchdown with 12 tackles en route to Defensive Player of the Week honors. Thibodeaux's awareness, hustle, and willingness to get his nose dirty and make the little plays are all plusses in his game, and the best part about him is he hasn't even begun to scratch the surface of his abilities just yet.
"I feel like it was pretty good," he said of his rookie season. "I feel like my rookie year, I left a lot of space to grow, got better as time went on. Continuously put the work in. I'm excited for the second year now.
Best Case Scenario
Thibodeaux is locked in and focused on taking a big step forward in his development. He mentioned learning to use his strength to his advantage as one of many things he hoped to improve. He also mentioned reviewing his bad plays from last year and learning from them, particularly on finishing.
A healthy, productive Thibodeaux is, without question, the Giants' best-case scenario. New York hasn't had a pass rusher who has created headaches for opponents in quite some time. Thibodeaux and Ojulari easily give them just that, the first legitimate pass-rushing duo since the days of Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon in 2017.
Worst Case Scenario
Thibodeaux's knee injury last year was a freak occurrence and is in no way considered any warning sign that he might be one of those injury-prone guys. Even when he was working his way back from that injury, he still hustled.
While bumps and bruises are part of the game, if Thibodeaux ends up having to miss any significant time due to injury, that would not be a good thing for a Giants defense that, as of this writing, does not have productive depth behind Thibodeaux and Ojulari.
What to Expect in 2023
Barring injury, Thibodeaux is locked in as a starter on the Giants defense. And based on his snap counts last year, he'll be on the field a lot.
He showed leadership in how he played the game and a zest for flying around out there doing what he loves.
One of Thibodeaux's off-season goals was to learn how to better utilize his strength to his advantage. He's also looking to stay healthy to minimize missed games. His rookie season offered some great experience, but now it's time for him to take his game to the next level. And Thibodeaux seems more than ready to make that happen.
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