(Photo: Getty)
Next on our list is a former top-five pick by the New York Giants, Kayvon Thibodeaux. When he came out of Oregon in 2022, he was thought to be a can’t-miss pass rusher, destined to be a perennial 10+ sack player. That hasn’t happened at all, as he only has one season with more than six sacks back in 2023, when he had 11.5. He was banged up for a good chunk of last season, as a shoulder injury caused him to miss the final seven games of the regular season.
It also seems that the Giants, with John Harbaugh as the head coach, would prefer to move on from Thibodeaux. SNY’s Connor Hughes reported on Monday that the front office is actively shopping Tibodeaux on the open market. He even reported that league sources expect Thibodeaux to no longer be in Giants blue. It would be much easier for the Bears to get him both in compensation and contract, with him making $14.7m this season. This would certainly be a gamble for Poles to pull the trigger on, considering the lack of production in three out of the four years of his NFL career.
Despite all of that, I think Thibodeaux can be a good fit for defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s defense. He’s a bigger defensive end who’s uber athletic, the archetype that Allen seems to fit his scheme the best. Thibodeaux will have to fight for his NFL life, and a change of scenery is much needed. On a team that has higher aspirations than the Giants have had, I think the former Oregon Duck could finally be the player people thought he would become.