Despite rumors that they were concerned with his character, the New York Giants selected Oregon edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux with their top pick in the 2022 NFL draft.
That decision came on the heels of tremendous preparation. The Giants met with Thibodeaux several times during the pre-draft process including a last-second FaceTime call on Thursday. In the end, they had gathered the information needed and felt comfortable with their decision.
“We spent a lot of time with him. We met with him at the NFL Combine, I flew out there for his pro day along with a couple other individuals, and we had him in here for a visit,” general manager Joe Schoen said.
“He’s a very outgoing individual. He’s got a lot of personality. I’m sure you guys will enjoy your time with him meeting him, but a really good kid, likeable kid, works hard.”
The constant contact and the repeated communication also set Thibodeaux at ease.
“It was really dope because we really got to build a foundation, I don’t want to say relationship, but we built a foundation, and now I have a real understanding because when I get there, I can go to them for anything,” Thibodeaux said.
“I took [Schoen] to my house and we were able to break bread and do everything that we needed and I let them know that I eat, right. It was really dope, we got to break bread and we really got to build that relationship.”
During his series of meetings with the team, Thibodeaux also got to plant roots with several current and former Giants. Among them were quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley.
There was also Michael Strahan, who strolled into East Rutherford to say “hello” when the Oregon product held his top-30 visit.
“He literally is one of my mentors and he’s been talking to me throughout this process,” Thibodeaux revealed. “He actually came to visit me when I was on my visit with the team, so seeing him out there that was really dope because he’s given me wisdom and he even was able to speak on my behalf because we have built a relationship over the year.”
Thibodeaux ultimately walked away from those meetings, visits and introductions thinking New York — a city he called his “second home” — was the right place for him.
“Because I’m hungry. I’m really competitive and hungry and I feel like New York is the pinnacle of a dog-eat-dog world,” Thibodeaux said.
And now it’s time for Thibodeaux to eat.
