Kayvon Thibodeaux savors opportunity to be great for Giants
One of the narratives surrounding Kayvon Thibodeaux was that he almost quit.
It’s not said as a bad thing – he was only in eighth grade when he contemplated switching out football for basketball, and the anecdote is charming enough that Giants' in-house media decided to use it in a video. But a closer inspection of his motivations reveals something clearer: Thibodeaux almost quit because, no matter what sport he played, even back then, the intention was to not only be great, but to be among the very best.
He was just a kid, he explained Friday on the first day of the Giants' three-day rookie minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center, but he was already looking at probability.
“It was an idea for me because, being a kid, you see all these statistics and you see all of you guys creating narratives and creating frames on how hard it is to make it to the NFL,” said Thibodeaux, the 21-year-old edge rusher who is already captivating and gregarious in front of the media. “For me, I had doubt in my mind. And then I had to really dial back to my faith and realize that there's going to be statistics with everything. It's up to you to create your own legacy.”
And though it’s early – so, so early – it’s clear that Thibodeaux’s decision to lean into uncertainty, into the daunting probabilities, is paying off in massive ways. The expectations around the Giants' No. 5 overall pick are huge, and behind Wink Martindale’s aggressive defense, Thibodeaux is being set up to get a crash course in bright lights and big moments.
He likes that, though, and said he looked forward to building up trust and matching the lofty goals put ahead of him.
Asked if he savors the possibility to let loose on defense, he unleashed a bright smile, gesturing theatrically. “I savor every moment,” he said. “When you've been through everything and your life has brought you to this point, MetLife, the American Dream, the New York Giants. Are you serious? You know what I mean? . . . For me, it's a dream come true."
It’s also a big job. The Giants have generally been steeped in mediocrity for the better part of 10 seasons, ever since they won the Super Bowl at the end of the 2011 season, and their recent first-round draft picks have been an uneven lot. Their selections this year, highlighted by Thibodeaux and offensive tackle Evan Neal (seventh overall), have largely been met with optimism, even positivity.
And though rookies aren’t exactly prime candidates for leadership roles, it’s clear that Thibodeaux is in training for taking on that mantle. If not now, eventually.
“I feel like you can lead, not in football, you can lead in any position in life,” he said. “It's about doing the right thing at all times. For me, as long as I'm leading myself down the right path, people are going to follow. As long as I'm going the right way, it's going to be easy to have people go with me. So, I’m not saying I'm going to step in and be a vocal leader, but I'll make sure I do everything the right way, so when people see me, they know I'm the last one leaving, they know I’m the first one in. That's how I do things.”
He's gotten off to a good start, paying up to wear his No. 5, which previously belonged to veteran kicker Graham Gano. The number cost him a $50,000 donation to Puppies Behind Bars, which provides service dogs to war veterans and first responders, in addition to other things.
“Before we even started negotiating, we really got to know each other,” Thibodeaux said of him and Gano. “That's the biggest part of being a teammate, joining someone's family, getting to know him, getting some wisdom from him.[He's] been in the game 13 years or thereabouts [and has] a lot of wisdom. He was able to give me a lot of wisdom; we were able to make it work. The military was big for me, my grandfather was in the military. [Gano is] a military kid, figuring [out] a way to give back, do something positive. We figured it out.”
So did Thibodeaux, all those years ago.
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
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