Measurables
UNIVERSITY- Oregon AGE- 21 CLASS- JR
HEIGHT- 6’5”? WEIGHT- 258 ARM LENGTH-
40 Time- 3 CONE- VERTICAL- BROAD JUMP- BENCH PRESS-
Overview
Kavon Thibodeaux played his high school ball at Oaks Christian High School, where he was rated as the number 1 recruit in the country by many publications. He came in as the highest rated signee in Oregon football history. In 2019 as a freshman Kavon played in all 14 games, starting in 5. He finished the season with 35 tackles, 14 TFL, 9 sacks, 3 PBUs and 1 FF (also added a blocked punt in the Pac-12 Championship). This earned him Pac-12 defensive player of the year, Freshman All-America First-Team, Pac-12 Second Team honors. In 2020 Kavon started all 7 games, tallying 38 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 3 sacks and 3 PBUs. He earned second and third team All-America honors from publications and First-Team All Pac 12. In 2021 Kavon missed a few games and was limited in some others but finished the season seeing action in 11 games. He contributed 50 tackles, 12 TFL, 7 sacks, 2 FFs and 1 PBU. He earned all the honor he received prior but was also recognized as a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Chuck Bednarik, the Tim Hendricks Award and was a Walter Camp player of the year semifinalist. Kavon also earned academic honors while attending Oregon.
Strengths
Thibodeaux possesses all of the physical and athletic tools to become an elite NFL pass rusher. I’ll start out by saying that I don’t believe he’s a generational talent but there’s also nothing wrong with that. Kavon has a rare blend of speed off the ball, enough bend to turn the corner and good length at the position. He has enough explosion to win with speed alone on a pass rush move but not on a consistent basis. What really separates Kavon from the elite pass rush prospects that we’ve seen in recent years is his agility in open space, especially his lateral quickness. This will often show up in the run game as he’s squeezing down on plays flowing away from his side. Agility is important to Kavon’s game as he’s very natural in altering his pass rush plan mid play. You see him consistently set a linemen up outside then counter to an inside move. He also shows excellent balance and is never taken off his track for that reason. Kavon also shows the athletic ability to maneuver around linemen who attempt to chop him down. Oregon often allowed for him to stand-up and play off-ball LB, he looked the part athletically (slow mentally). He showed the physical ability to actually cover guys in the open space which was both equally amazing and surprising. Kavon is strong at holding the point of attack in the run game and is never driven off the ball. He clearly has the athleticism to make a play down the line of scrimmage or sideline to sideline. When Kavon hits he hits with a lot of force and can often dislodge the ball. Opposing offenses felt the need to slant their whole offense away from Kavon at times. As a pass rusher he consistently drew double teams and chips. He flashed potential to completely wreck games if he was left in 1-on-1 situations. His assortment of pass rush moves and his awareness of knowing when to use which is pretty fantastic for his age. Kavon also showed the ability to flow from one move to the next in the same rush rep. He showed promise as both a stand-up rusher or a rusher from a 3-point stance. I feel his clear best fit would be as a 3-4 OLB, I want him to focus on refining his skills during the off-season, not building mass to be a 4-3 DE. You’re also utilizing his elite agility and masking his limitations more at OLB. I’ve seen many people say he lacks effort, I didn’t see that at all. Kavon is playing nearly every snap, drawing double teams and still rushing the passer relentlessly to end games. He will be in a better rotation in the NFL.
Weaknesses/Room for Improvement
When I think of generational talent at edge rusher guys that come to mind are the Von Millers, Clowney, Garrett, the Bosa brothers. I think it’s inaccurate and unfair to place Thibodeaux in that class of guys but he is special and elite so i’ll critique him as such. Kavon has really high level bend but not elite bend to dip around the corner. Kavon won’t have many rushes at the next level where he’s able to win with speed alone. He’s slightly undersized for an edge prospect and seems to lack elite length. I would like to see him add more punch in his hands. He’s able to get linemen off balance with a counter move but he wasn’t moving many linemen with pure strength alone and was left stone-walled often. Adding strength would also help Kavon disengage from blockers in the run game better as well. He was letting TEs get in his way as a blocker at times, when he should be tossing those guys. Kavon could play more disciplined in the run game, he often shoots gaps trying to make plays rather than keeping gap integrity. I also felt he took himself out of plays and left his team at a deficit by errantly chasing RBs on read-option plays. I believe Kavon will flash this year but I would be surprised if he comes into the league as an impact player. I see him year 2-3 becoming one of the best edge rushers in the league if he makes the proper growth and development in the off-seasons. You’re risking his career development if you draft him as a 4-3 DE in my opinion. He should be a good player at DE as a rusher but he can be an incredible player every down at OLB in a 3-4
Scheme Fit
3-4 OLB
Round Grade
Elite First Round Talent. Top 5-10