Oregon pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux remains one of the biggest curiosities in the current draft class. How high, or low, will he go in the top 10? Will he slide out of it altogether?
At Oregon’s Pro Day on Friday, Thibodeaux addressed those who would suggest his stock isn’t as high as it could be.
“The most ridiculous thing I’ve heard is that I’m not the best player in this draft,” Thibodeaux told reporters, via Antwan Staley of the Eugene Register-Guard. “I really don’t listen to anything else, but that to me, that’s outrageous. . . . With the film, with the numbers and what I can do as far as my ability, I have confidence in what I can do.”
Some have questioned his motor, his effort. Does he bring it every single play?
“It is easy to see a snippet of something because that’s what media does,” Thibodeaux said. “They cut stuff up and frame it how they want to. Just watch the whole tape, you will be able to see.”
The other reality of the pre-draft skullduggery is that teams that like a player will push narratives that could cause a player to slide, just far enough so that those teams will have a chance to snag him. And teams that don’t like a player will take him up, in the hopes that someone drafting earlier will burn a selection on him.
Wherever he goes, Thibodeaux possesses skills that are very valuable to the NFL.