Oregon sending five prospects to NFL draft combine

On Wednesday, the NFL released its entire list of players who received formal invites to participate in the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine. The combine, set to take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on March 1-7, will feature five former Oregon stars, including potential top-five pick Kayvon Thibodeaux.

In total, there will be five Ducks players, two on defense and three on offense, representing Oregon at the combine. All in all, a total of 324 prospects received invitations to attend this year’s combine.

The Georgia Bulldogs landed a nationwide high of 14 invites for former players in this year’s combine. Behind the national champs in the invite count are Alabama and Oklahoma with 11. Last year, it was Ohio State that led the nation’s top programs with 14 invitees, followed by Alabama, Georgia, and Notre Dame with 11 each.

Five Ducks representing at NFL Draft Combine

• Kayvon Thibodeaux, DL
• CJ Verdell, RB
• Devon Williams, WR
• Johnny Johnson III, WR
• Verone McKinley III, DB

Thibodeaux fires back at Todd McShay report questioning his competitive fire

Following last week’s Senior Bowl, ESPN NFL Draft expert Todd McShay had some interesting commentary on Oregon edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux. McShay reported that there were concerns about Thibodeaux’s competitive fire. Thibodeaux joined SportsCenter earlier in the week, where he addressed the reports about his lack of competitive fire. He clearly wasn’t having any of what McShay was saying.

“I feel like when you talk about fire, fire is kind of correlated to what someone has in the heart,” Thibodeaux said when asked about McShay’s report. “And I don’t feel like anyone else can dictate what a person has in the heart. So I don’t really look into it. I know it’s entertainment, I know everybody has a job to do. But I do feel like the combine is going to be a place where I can put all of the questions to rest. I’ll be able to answer them with my chin up and my chest down.

“So I’m excited for the journey and blessed for the opportunity. There’s not many people that get to play this game at the highest level. So I just thank God every day that I’m healthy and that he’s given me the wisdom and the clarity to come this far. We just gonna keep it going.”

When asked about his best intangible trait, Thibodeaux picked the one thing that McShay said was a question.

“My competitive spirit,” Thibodeaux responded. “That’s why it’s funny when people talk about fire. Because me, I hate losing. So I’m going to do everything in my power to win and I’m going to sacrifice anything I can to get to the greater good or the greater goal. Just showing that I’m going to do literally whatever it takes for me to get better or to help the man next to me get better.”

On3’s Jonathan Wagner contributed to this report.