STRENGTHS
Of all the pass rushers in this draft, Kayvon is the most talented. His off the snap quickness is the best and his flexibility to turn the corner is outstanding. He has excellent size and strength to set the edge and long arms to keep his opponent off his body to shed tackles and make the play in the hole. Because of his quickness off the line, he flashes into the peripheral vision of a QB disrupting his rhythm on passing downs. Kayvon doesn’t takedowns off but at times seems to get bored because of all the times the play is going away from him and this frustrates him. That being said, when the time to step up comes, he turns into Flash Gordon causing disruption all over the field and that’s why I call him Kayvon (Flash) Thibodaux.
CONCERNS
There are contradictions to his overall game that are a bit disturbing. He likes to stand up to rush but hasn’t shown the ability and instincts to drop in coverage and cover with confidence. When he is in a three-point stance (not very often) he doesn’t get that “quick snap off the ball” compared to when standing up. He seems to play to his competition and struggles to make plays against the run, in spite of his talents. Right now, when Kayvon’s first move is neutralized, he struggles to continue making any secondary moves to free himself up and continue with his pass rush until he hears the whistle. All of these issues are concerns and are disturbing but his pure athletic talent and character will override most of them for most teams.
BOTTOM LINE: 1.42
From an athletic standpoint, there is no better ER in this draft but as I always say it takes more than talent to play in the NFL. It takes the desire and work ethic to be the best. Not one of the best…THE BEST. That being said, this is NOT another Jadeveon Clowney (See Profile in Archives) situation. That also being said, it is a situation where Kayvon might not live entirely up to his top-dog billing. In spite of my concerns, I would not pass on selecting Kayvon at any point in this draft like I question selecting Clowney at any point in that draft. Kayvon has too much talent and character, to play at a high level and even if he doesn’t show the passion that I like to see in a player’s overall game, that doesn’t mean the passion is not there to be tapped into. Like I said, off the snap of the ball he flashes into the peripheral vision of a right-handed QB, disrupting his rhythm and for a left-handed QB, he is coming for them from their blind side and that should scare the crap out of them. Those attributes alone make him worthy of being considered in the top ten of this draft. Here’s the question to ask yourself, would you pass on asking for Flash Gordon’s help, in saving your defense? I know I wouldn’t.
