New York Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

NY Giants OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux Makes Confession About Pre-draft Visit with Jets

Originally posted on New York Giants on SI
By Patricia Traina | Last updated Aug 14, 2025 9:40 PM ET

It’s funny how the NFL draft goes sometimes.

Back in 2022, there was talk that the New York Jets, who held the fourth overall pick in the draft, might select Oregon outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux, leaving Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner to fall to the New York Giants, who picked fifth in the order.

That, of course, didn’t materialize; the Jets snatched Gardner when they went on the clock, leaving Thibodeaux for then newly hired Giants general manager Joe Schoen to make his first-ever pick with for Big Blue.

And on Thursday, Thibodeaux revealed why the Jets, whom the Giants face Saturday night in a preseason game and with whom they just wrapped up two days of joint practices, probably decided to pass on taking him.

Brain freeze at the worst time

John Jones-Imagn Images

“When you go on those 30 visits, and you do those tests, man, and I was so tired, I was jet lagged, and they had me doing the tests, and I don’t know why I couldn’t do the tests,” he recalled.

“One of the tests was just messing me up, and I just quit it, and I was like, ‘Yeah, they might not take me off that.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, they might not take me,’ because I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m too tired for this. I’m done.”

The Jets apparently decided that they were done with him as well, and haven’t looked back since. Gang Green recently signed Gardner, who has been one of the best cover cornerbacks in the league, to a four-year, $120.4 million contract extension with $60 million guaranteed.

That deal, which averages out to $30.1 million per year, currently makes Gardner the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL.

Thibodeaux, meanwhile, is hoping to score a major payday of his own, preferably before he hits his option year in 2026. The fourth-year defender saw his sack total fall from 11.5 in 2023 to 5.5 last season in what was an injury-shortened campaign that saw him miss five games with a broken wrist.

But Thibodeaux told reporters on Thursday that he’s locked in on the upcoming season, having set goals to guide him in putting together the tape he knows he’s capable of delivering so that he can coax Giants general manager Joe Schoen to give him his payday.

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This article first appeared on New York Giants on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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