Saturday Scouting - Kayvon Thibodeaux (EDGE, Oregon) and week 6 games to watch

Good morning New York Giants fans!

Happy Saturday and welcome to Week 6 of the college football season. Not only will we be spotlighting one of the top defensive prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft in Kayvon Thibodeaux, but we have a fantastic slate of games today.

In fact, we have so many great matchups on major networks* today I had to change up my usual format. Ordinarily, I would try to give some background on individual matchups and draft prospects worth watching in each game. But with multiple games with draft implications in each time slot, there just isn’t enough time.

*For anyone who hasn’t tripped to this yet, I try to limit my game recommendations to major networks. It doesn’t seem fair to me to suggest folks watch a game on a channel they might not get.

But before we get to this week’s games, let’s talk about our prospect of the week.

Prospect Spotlight - Kayvon Thibodeaux (EDGE, Oregon)

Background

Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux is a long, lean, and athletic pass rushing prospect. He has been regarded as a future NFL talent since his high school days, and he was regarded as the top passrushing prospect in the state of California since his sophomore year.

Thibodeaux is an explosive athlete with a background in track and basketball as well as football. Both his track speed and basketball agility show up in his game, and combine with his other athletic traits to make for an EDGE with uncommon versatility. He also shows solid instincts as a pass rusher, flashing a variety of moves to win with speed or power. Unlike many rare athletes, Thibodeaux also shows the ability to remain patient and bide his time before using his explosiveness to make plays.

Thibodeaux is not yet a finished product. At just 20 years old, he is still growing and developing. He has gotten bigger and stronger each year, which will need to continue into the NFL as he can be overwhelmed at the point of attack. He also needs to continue to improve and become more consistent with his technique.

Strengths

• Long, lean EDGE defender, listed at 6-foot-5, 255 pounds
• Young defender, only 20 years old
• Twitchy athlete, explosive with short-area quickness
• Agile with good change of direction skills (former basketball player)
• Good long speed (track background)
• Uses length well to create separation
• Flashes solid pass rush arsenal
• Able win with speed, technique, and a power counter.
• Shows good play strength with leverage.
• Very versatile. Lines up on left and right side, DE and rush linebacker, and off-ball SAM linebacker.
• Disruptive defender, influences plays even when he doesn’t get box score production.
• Usually patient, uses his athleticism to make plays.

Weaknesses

• Can be overwhelmed by offensive linemen at the point of attack
• Play strength is a bit lacking when he doesn’t establish leverage
• Can play a bit out of control at times

Games To Watch

Early Games

• (21) Texas at (6) Oklahoma - ABC - Noon
• (13) Arkansas at (17) Ole Miss - ESPN - Noon

Afternoon Games

• (2) Georgia at (18) Auburn - CBS - 3:30 pm
• (4) Penn State at (3) Iowa - Fox - 4pm

Prime Time Games

• (9) Michigan at Nebraska - ABC - 7:30 pm
• (1) Alabama at Texas A&M - CBS - 8 pm