“Bothered and upset” - Top NFL Draft pick needed to leave interview to avoid breakdown

From the end of the college football season to the NFL Draft in April, NFL prospects are subjected to a long line of tests. The combine, pro days and the Senior Bowl make up much of their trials, but teams also subject players to their own private interviews behind closed doors.

In one such interview at a restaurant, a top draft pick needed to step away from his interview to recompose himself. Adam Schefter retold the story on The Adam Schefter Podcast. Here's how he put it:

“And they went to dinner. The Giants defensive line coach assistant defensive line coach Brian Cox began peppering questions at Aiden Hutchinson, and how much he liked football and what his goals were. And then he began peppering questions at Kayvon Thibodeaux."

He continued, explaining how deep the questions went:

"Cox asked him some rather personal questions, he asked him about his family, he asked him about his father and his father's history. He asked Kayvon, about the friendships he did, and didn't have. And Kayvon did not like the line of questioning nor appreciate it."

According to Schefter, the prospect needed to step away mid-interview to calm down:

"And so he took a moment to go to the bathroom to compose himself, because he was so bothered and upset by some of the questions that were asked of him, and also not estimating Hutchinson at that time. Now he came back to the table. And the Giants held a long zoom call."

Schefter described how the Giants picked the prospect, despite nearly pushing him over the edge at dinner:

"A couple of Saturdays later, in which they got more information, more answers from Thibodeaux. And clearly, the organization liked what it heard enough, and liked what it saw enough to go use their first overall pick on Kayvon Thibodeaux."

Schefter wrapped up, saying the prospect approached Cox about the incident and cleared the air:

"Thibodeaux had to return to the Giants building after he got drafted. And I'm told that one of the first people I encountered was in fact, Brian Cox, and the two men visited talked it out. They're good moving forward together, not an issue anymore.”

From dinner to draft: who is Kayvon Thibodeaux?

Kayvon Thibodeaux at NFL Combine

Kayvon Thibodeaux is a defensive end and a member of the New York Giants' new 2022 NFL Draft class. He spent his college career in Oregon and played for three seasons. According to Sports Reference, the defensive end played 30 games for the college.

Unlike most college recruits, the defensive end exploded out of the gate. In his freshman season, he recorded nine sacks and 14 tackles for loss. In 2020, the defensive lineman played in seven games, recording 9.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Put simply, it was a step back after a strong freshman season.

In 2021, the defensive end played his final season in college. Most agree that he went out with a bang. He had 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks before leaving to be drafted fifth overall.

It will be intriguing to see how he performs for the Giants this season. The Giants will be looking to move forward from last year's disappointing 4-13 record and challenge for the NFC East.