Mel Kiper Updates Big Board: Kayvon Thibodeaux Remains Top Ten
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. is one of the biggest talking heads in NFL Draft coverage. He’s also been openly critical of Oregon’s pass-rusher supreme Kayvon Thibodeaux.
Kiper updated his his Big Board on the afternoon of April 3. It is his first update following the NFL combine and now pro days around the country.
For Kayvon Thibodeaux, he saw no changes in Kiper’s big board update, remaining at No. 6 overall.
- DE – Aiden Hutchinson – Michigan
- OT – Ikem Ekwonu – NC State
- OT – Evan Neal – Bama
- CB – Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner – Cincy
- S – Kyle Hamilton – Notre Dame
- DE – Kayvon Thibodeaux – Oregon
After missing a few games because of an ankle injury he suffered in the season opener, Thibodeaux was spectacular in his return. He had a strip sack, another sack and nine total tackles against UCLA. Against Cal the week before, he had a sack and 10 pressures. He finished the season with seven sacks and two forced fumbles, and even though he had half as many sacks as Hutchinson, he had the second-best pressure rate in the country (17.8%). Thibodeaux, the No. 1-ranked high school recruit in 2019, is an elite pass-rushing talent with the quickness and bend to get double-digit sacks annually at the next level. He had nine sacks as a true freshman in 2019 and had three more and 9.5 tackles for loss in seven games last season.
It’s also worth noting, Mel Kiper Jr also has Oregon safety Verone McKinley listed in his top ten safety rankings. McKinley is his No. 8 safety in this draft class.
The NFL Draft will begin its coverage on Thursday, April 28.
