Kayvon Thibodeaux – Mirage of Off-Field Issues Cloud Judgement of Top Prospect

On January 4, 2022, Pro Football Focus’s Michael Renner published a lengthy article comparing Aidan Hutchinson and Kayvon Thibodeaux with a thorough discussion of which one should be the first overall pick. Since then, the two have drifted apart in draft evaluations. Over the past two weeks, per NFL Mock Draft Database, Hutchinson is averaging the #1 overall pick, and Thibodeaux is averaging the #4 overall pick.

However, some mock drafts have him much lower than the #4 pick. NFL.com’s Lance Zeirlein’s recent mock draft had him at #8 to the Falcons. CBS’s Josh Edwards had him going at #7 to the Giants. NBC Sports’s Peter King had him falling all the way to the Jets’ second pick at #10. So what gives? Why is the perception of Thibodeaux fading?

Scouts Cite Off-Field Concerns

There is a growing consensus that Kayvon Thibodeaux may have work ethic and motor issues. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said Thibodeaux has “spotty” effort, and ESPN’s Todd McShay stated in February that some NFL teams are concerned that Thibodeaux “doesn’t play with the same fire as other prospects.”

The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman recently published his 2022 mock draft featuring input from scouts and coaches on some of the top prospects in this class. Some of the quotes listed in the article were eye-opening. There were questions about his lack of consistency and effort – one coach pondered, “how important is football to him?”

One coach compared him to former UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, saying, “they’re both really good football players, and if they really concentrated on football, they’d be really good at it. But you listen to Thibodeaux talk, and you wonder about his mindset.”

Kayvon Thibodeaux’s Off-Field Interests

On June 30, 2021, NCAA members voted to allow athletes to monetize their name, image, and likeness (NIL), allowing them to pursue off-field financial opportunities for the first time. Several athletes took advantage of sponsorships with high-profile companies and the chance to profit from their athletic success.

Kayvon Thibodeaux took a different approach as he released his own cryptocurrency in 2021 called “$JREAM” which can be traded on Rally, a digital platform that allows individuals to “build their own digital economies.” Thibodeaux called it “the next step in starting [his] future.” Thibodeaux described his interest in cryptocurrency dating back to high school.

Nike designer Tinker Hatfield also released an NFT of Thibodeaux in partnership with Nike founder Phil Knight. Thibodeaux also signed a massive contract with United Airlines and reportedly signed a “six-figure private memorabilia deal,” per ESPN.

I am honored to announce my first collaboration with two true pioneers: Phil Knight and Tinker Hatfield. (https://t.co/Cg5qsJF3Nd) pic.twitter.com/YhY88bHhmf

— Kayvon Thibodeaux (@kayvont) July 6, 2021

Comparing Thibodeaux to Aidan Hutchinson

The strong consensus opinion is that Aidan Hutchinson is the top prospect in this year’s draft due to proven production and having a high floor. However, Thibodeaux’s output wasn’t that far off from Hutchinson’s last season, as he played the season a year younger. Hutchinson led the country with 55 hurries, tied for first with 14 sacks, and ranked third with 74 total pressures. Thibodeaux ranked outside of the top 15 in all three of those categories.

However, the efficiency metrics per PFF’s Premium Stats show that Thibodeaux and Hutchinson were much closer. Thibodeaux’s 23.2% pass-rush win rate was narrowly behind Hutchinson’s 25%. PFF has a PRP metric that measures sacks, hits, and hurries compared to the number of pass-rush reps, and Thibodeaux’s 10.7 rate is just behind Hutchinson’s 10.9.

Kayvon Thibodeaux also performed exceptionally well in athletic testing to earn a 92 overall grade per NFL Next Gen Stats and a 9.61 Relative Athletic Score grade. His 4.58-second 40-yard dash ranks in the 93rd percentile of edge rushers per MockDraftable, and his 1.59-second 10-yard split ranks in the 87th percentile. He also led his position group with 27 bench reps.

Aidan Hutchinson ranked as a 95 overall prospect per Next Gen Stats and finished with a stellar 9,88 RAS grade. His 3-cone drill came in at 6.73 seconds, which rates in the 99th percentile for defensive ends, and he ranked in the 94th percentile with a 4.15-second short shuttle.

So Kayvon Thibodeaux ended up with a damn good #RAS after his pro day. Currently ranked 59th out of 1,456 DE since 1987. pic.twitter.com/cBQWnFFa9t

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 2, 2022

Thibodeaux Pushes Against Criticisms

At the NFL Combine in March, Thibodeaux spent his interview session answering questions about what he described as “the media narrative” and insisting that football was his top priority. “The biggest thing that I kind of want to articulate with the teams is that I’m really a student of the game,” Thibodeaux told reporters.

“I really love this game and this is something that has done a lot for me. Football has taught me a lot. It’s helped me grow a lot and through my life it’ll be there till the day I die.” He also said, “football is my main focus and winning a Super Bowl, getting a yellow jacket, being Defensive Rookie of the Year is on my list of goals.”

In an ESPN article written by Tom VanHaaren in October 2021, Thibodeaux described how football can be the platform for his off-field interests. “The only reason people care about this story is because of football, and the only way I’ll be able to open a school and do anything I want to do is through football,” Thibodeaux said. “I’ll never lose sight that football is what got me here and that football is the platform.”

Kayvon Thibodeaux career numbers:

🥇 87.8 PFF Grade (1st among Pac-12 Edges)
🥇 90.9 Pass Rush Grade (1st)
🥇 19.0% Pass Rush Win Rate (1st)pic.twitter.com/c3OMuh2PH5

— PFF Draft (@PFF_College) April 6, 2022

As NIL Changes the Game, Old-School Coaches Need to Catch Up

According to an article from Athletic Director U and Navigate Research, the new NIL rules could be worth as much as $1,000-$10,000 annually for student-athletes. Per ESPN, Ohio State said in January that 220 athletes had been paid a total of $2.98 million for 608 reported NIL activities. On March 12, the Athletic reported that a five-star recruit in the 2023 class had signed a NIL deal that could be worth over $8 million by the end of his junior season.

Of course, high-profile athletes like Kayvon Thibodeaux will be on the higher end of potential money earned from NIL activity. Thibodeaux was the #2 recruit in the country coming out of high school and carries a ton of name recognition. He used that recognition to build his brand with high-value partnerships, and the awareness of his financial potential shouldn’t be viewed as a negative.

As we continue to progress into the NIL era, we should expect more and more high-profile NFL draft prospects to be involved in off-field activity. Quinn Ewers, the #1 high school prospect in the country, has agreed to a $1.4 million deal with GT Sports Marketing. Clemson’s D.J. Uiagalelei is featured in a new Dr. Pepper’s Fansville commercial. Florida State’s McKenzie Milton has his own NFT. Alabama’s Ga’Quincy ‘Kool-Aid’ McKinstry has an obvious but clever partnership with Kool-Aid.

The comments surrounding Kayvon Thibodeaux presume that this type of off-field activity means the player is less committed to their football team. While college coaches may have ongoing concerns about time management and distractions, NIL deals are becoming a regular part of the college sports scene. If NFL coaches and scouts continue to view this negatively, they will miss out on talented prospects in the coming years.

The Truth About Thibodeaux

Kayvon Thibodeaux was born in South Los Angeles, and he opened up at the NFL Scouting Combine about the impact that made on his life. “I’m an L.A. kid, and if you know the adversity I went through to get here, and the things that I had to sacrifice, and the things that my mother had to sacrifice for me to be here, you’d really understand how I feel in my heart.”

Questioning Thibodeaux’s effort is silly. It takes effort to study journalism, develop business plans, and engage with the Jream Foundation to help kids in South Central Los Angeles. It takes effort to study film and learn from some of the great pass-rushers in the NFL, including Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware, and Willie McGinest, as he described at the Combine.

Kayvon Thibodeaux’s personal trainer Travelle Gaines told Jets X-Factor that “he loves work” and is highly committed to working with kids in South Central L.A. “He’s gonna bus them out to the Valley where he went to school at, give them sports performance training, tutoring, and all of the resources he had. And he’s paying for it out of his own pocket.”

Thibodeaux has worked hard to maintain himself as an elite athlete dating back to high school with an intense workout regimen, and he’s highly driven to explore off-field opportunities and give back to his community. The growing consensus that Thibodeaux is selfish, lazy, or uncommitted is blatantly false, and teams will be missing out on a great football player and a great person at the top of the draft if they pass on him.

I’m extremely excited to present to you the launch of “The Jream Foundation,” (Journey to Readiness in Enrichment and Academic Mentorship). A foundation focused on uplifting the future of underprivileged children by allocating resources and support towards their dreams. pic.twitter.com/2u9kzSbagA

— Kayvon Thibodeaux (@kayvont) September 3, 2021