The New York Giants have a talented young team with several rising stars on both sides of the ball. Arguably chief among them is 2022 fifth-overall draft pick Kayvon Thibodeaux. The 23-year-old pass-rusher has established himself as one of the league’s rising after a breakout 2023-24 season.
Giants: Kayvon Thibodeaux named to CBS Sports All-Under-25 Team
CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani recently crafted an All-Under-25 Team and drafted Thibodeaux as the Second-Team edge rusher. On the First Team was Aidan Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions and Will Anderson Jr. of the Houston Texans. Thibodeaux was placed behind these two pass-rushers on the Second Team along with Greg Rousseau of the Buffalo Bills.
This is not the first time this offseason that Thibodeaux has found himself on a list of top talents. Earlier this offseason, Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus named Thibodeaux one of the NFL’s top-32 edge rushers. He came in at No. 29 on the list as Sikkema highlighted Thibodeaux’s potential, but also his room for improvement:
“Thibodeaux’s grades took a step back across the board from 2022 to 2023,” Sikkema wrote. “And although he recorded 11.5 sacks, his pass-rush win rate dropped from 9.5% in 2022 to 6.4% in 2023, and he produced only three more pressures despite playing 111 more pass-rush snaps. Thibodeaux is still a very talented player, but he needs a bounce-back 2024 season.”
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Thibodeaux established himself as one of the NFL’s best young pass-rushers in 2023-24
Thibodeaux burst onto the scene last season as he set new career highs with 50 combined tackles, 12 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, and 11.5 sacks. His second NFL season was an exciting one that finally saw Thibodeaux begin to live up to his top-10 billing.
However, his down-to-down productivity left room for improvement. Thibodeaux totaled just 43 pressures across 520 pass-rushing snaps last season. Increasing his pressure rate and converting more sack opportunities will make Thibodeaux one of the NFL’s most prolific pass rushers.
Now playing in a trio that’s headlined by Dexter Lawrence and Brian Burns, Thibodeaux will face more one-on-one pass-rushing opportunities, increasing his ability to stuff the stat sheet. The Giants’ defensive line could be one of the best units in the NFL this season, especially if Thibodeaux continues on his upward trend.
