It wasn’t long ago that ESPN analyst Todd McShay publicly contemplated the possibility of Oregon Ducks defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux dropping in the 2022 NFL draft, and questioned his work ethic and competitive fire. So it shouldn’t be too surprising to see Thibodeaux further down the list than we originally expected in McShay’s mock draft 2.0.
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Released on Wednesday, McShay’s newest mock has Thibodeaux dropping to the No. 5 spot, where he is taken by the New York Giants. Here’s what McShay had to say about the pick:
Yes, the Giants need offensive linemen, but with a second top-10 pick on deck and the top two linemen off the board, we’re pivoting to the other massive weakness: pass rush. And wouldn’t you know it, Thibodeaux falls right into the Giants’ lap here. He has great quickness, a good arsenal of pass-rush moves and plenty of versatility. His tape is up and down, hence a slight slide to No. 5, but he’d immediately elevate a New York pass rush that had 34 sacks (tied for 22nd) last season. And he’d perfectly complement Leonard Williams and Azeez Ojulari, the team’s 2021 second-rounder who led the defense with 8.0 sacks in his rookie year.
In the mock 2.0, it is Alabama’s OT Evan O’Neal off the board first, followed by Michigan DE Aiden Hutchinson, Notre Dame S Kyle Hamilton, and NC State OT Ikem Ekwonu.
We still have a couple of months until the draft arrives, and now that the super bowl is behind us, you can expect the football world’s attention start to shift in that direction. We will be sure to follow the buzz around Thibodeaux and see if he will be able to climb back up in the projections.
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