Expert Reveals Why Oregon's Kayvon Thibodeaux is the No. 1 Defensive Lineman in NFL Draft
The 2022 NFL Draft is just over nine weeks away, and with the Scouting Combine and Pro Days drawing near, the debates over which prospects are the best will be ringing throughout the football universe for weeks.
Typically, those conversations involve quarterbacks. Which quarterback will be the next big thing? Which quarterback will be a bust? These questions seem to gather the most clicks, but this year, another position has taken the front page.
The hottest debate in the NFL draft right now is between two edge rushers: Oregon's Kayvon Thibodeaux and Michigan's Aidan Hutchinson. This draft class is loaded with insanely talented edge rushers, namely these two, and it's possible that the number one overall pick will be lining up off the edge for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Kayvon Thibodeaux vs. Stanford 2021
Scott Boldt/Ducks Digest
Ric Serritella, creator of Sports Illustrated's NFL Draft Bible, claimed that Thibodeaux was his preferred choice over Hutchinson as the top defensive lineman in the 2022 NFL Draft class.
The reasoning behind his decision?
"This guy has been our number one guy for several years it seems like. 'The Chosen One' as his tattoo says. 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds. And we talk about traits. If you want to bet on traits, Thibodeaux's got size, he's got length, he's got speed, he's got bend. There's been some reports out there floating around in the media questioning his work ethic. I don't know, he might have a little bit of a Hollywood demeanor, but his work ethic on the field, I see a high-motor, aggressive player. I know he did suffer an ankle injury very early on in the season that kind of bothered him throughout the year, so he didn't maybe have the ideal season that he was looking forward to, however, at the end of the day, Kayvon Thibodeaux is my number one player in the draft."
Thibodeaux has been widely projected to be a first-round pick even before committing to Oregon as the highest-rated signee in program history. He's built an impressive resumé during his three-year career in Eugene, one that includes two AP All-Pac-12 First Team selections, a Pac-12 Championship Game MVP, a Rose Bowl trophy and being named a finalist for numerous national awards after his final season.
Thibodeaux logged 123 total tackles in 32 career games, accompanied by 35.5 tackles for loss, 19 sacks, three forced fumbles, and seven passes defensed. Since declaring for the NFL draft prior to the Ducks' loss in the Alamo Bowl, many analysts have Thibodeaux being selected very early in the NFL draft, even as high as the top three.
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