Kayvon Thibodeaux facts for kids
Thibodeaux in 2022
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| No. 5 – New York Giants | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | December 15, 2000 South Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 258 lb (117 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, California) |
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| College: | Oregon (2019–2021) | ||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2022 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||||
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Kayvon Thibodeaux (pronounced TIB-ə-doh; born December 15, 2000) is an American professional football player. He plays as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League (NFL). Kayvon was born in Los Angeles. In 2018, USA Today named him the High School Football Defensive Player of the Year.
Thibodeaux played college football for the Oregon Ducks. While there, he won several awards. These included the Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2019. He also won the Morris Trophy in 2020. In 2021, he was chosen as a unanimous All-American. The Giants picked him fifth overall in the 2022 NFL draft.
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Early Life and High School Football
Kayvon Thibodeaux was born in South Los Angeles, California, on December 15, 2000. He played football at Susan Miller Dorsey High School for two years. Then, in 2017, he moved to Oaks Christian School.
In 2018, during his senior year, he had 18 sacks and 54 tackles. Because of his great performance, USA Today named him the High School Football Defensive Player of the Year.
Throughout his high school career, Thibodeaux made 152 tackles. He also had 54 sacks and forced eight fumbles. He was one of the top-ranked players in the 2019 recruiting class. He chose to play college football for the Ducks at the University of Oregon. He had many other offers, including from USC and Stanford.
College Football Career
In 2019, Kayvon Thibodeaux was named the Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year. This award goes to the best first-year defensive player. As a sophomore, he won the Morris Trophy for defense. He was also named first-team All-Pac-12. He even won the MVP award for the 2020 Pac-12 Football Championship Game.
In his junior season, Thibodeaux hurt his ankle in the first game. He missed the next two games because of this injury. In 2021, he recorded seven sacks. He was also chosen by everyone for the 2021 College Football All-America Team. After this season, Thibodeaux decided to enter the 2022 NFL draft. He chose not to play his senior year of college.
College Statistics
| Season | GP | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | Ast | Cmb | TfL | Sck | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF | ||
| 2019 | 13 | 24 | 11 | 35 | 14 | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 | 7 | 25 | 17 | 42 | 9 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 10 | 35 | 14 | 49 | 12 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Career | 30 | 84 | 42 | 126 | 35.5 | 19.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Professional NFL Career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Broad jump | Bench press | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
254 lb (115 kg) |
33+1⁄8 in (0.84 m) |
9+3⁄4 in (0.25 m) |
4.58 s | 1.56 s | 2.64 s | 4.38 s | 7.23 s | 9 ft 11 in (3.02 m) |
27 reps | ||
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2022 Season Highlights
The New York Giants chose Thibodeaux as the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He had a knee injury in the preseason.
Thibodeaux played his first NFL game in Week 3 against the Dallas Cowboys. He made one tackle in that game. In Week 6, playing against the Baltimore Ravens, he got his first career sack. He also forced a fumble from quarterback Lamar Jackson. This play helped the Giants win the game.
On December 18, 2022, against the Washington Commanders, Thibodeaux forced a fumble and recovered it. He then ran it into the end zone for his first career touchdown. This great play earned him the NFC Defensive Player of the Week award for Week 15.
He played in 14 games during his first year. He finished the season with four sacks and 49 total tackles. He also defended five passes and forced two fumbles. He was named to the 2022 PFWA All-Rookie Team.
2023 Season Highlights
In Week 8 against the New York Jets, Thibodeaux had a big game. He recorded three sacks, forced a fumble, and made nine tackles.
During a Week 14 game against the Green Bay Packers, Thibodeaux forced a fumble from Packers quarterback Jordan Love.
In his second season, Thibodeaux finished with 11.5 sacks. He also had three forced fumbles, four pass deflections, and one fumble recovery.
2024 Season Highlights
Thibodeaux injured his wrist in Week 5 of the 2024 season. He needed surgery and was placed on injured reserve. He returned to play on November 23.
In a Week 17 game against the Colts, Thibodeaux sacked quarterback Joe Flacco. He also forced a fumble, which the Giants recovered. This play helped the Giants win the game and kept the Colts out of the playoffs.
NFL Career Statistics
Regular Season Stats
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | FF | FR | Yds | Int | Yds | Lng | TD | PD | ||||
| 2022 | NYG | 14 | 49 | 33 | 16 | 4.0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 2023 | NYG | 17 | 50 | 26 | 24 | 11.5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Career | 31 | 99 | 59 | 40 | 15.5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||
Personal Life and Hobbies
In July 2021, Thibodeaux worked with Nike CEO Phil Knight and shoe designer Tinker Hatfield. They created special digital art called NFTs. In September 2021, he started his own cryptocurrency called "$JREAM." This was named after the Jream Foundation, a charity he also started. Thibodeaux earned a degree in journalism-advertising from the University of Oregon.
Thibodeaux loves playing chess. He says he uses ideas from chess to improve his football skills. He started playing chess when he was young, watching his uncles play. Playing chess online became a big hobby for him. He was even chosen to play in Chess.com's BlitzChamp tournament. This is a fast-paced chess tournament for NFL players. Thibodeaux also partly owns the New York Warriors USA Masters T10 cricket team.
Thibodeaux attended the 2023 Grammys.
See also
In Spanish: Kayvon Thibodeaux para niños
