J.J. Watt says Kayvon Thibodeaux is 'a lot of fun to watch'
Outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux has been on a tear recently.
Thibodeaux was held without a sack heading into Week 3. Over the last six games, Thibodeaux has seen his sack total rise all the way to 8.5, matching Cleveland's Myles Garrett and Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt for the third-most in the NFL. Three of his sacks came this past Sunday against the Jets, as the 22-year-old was consistently in the face of quarterback Zach Wilson.
Thibodeaux's recent play has garnered the praise from many analysts and former players, with the legendary J.J. Watt being the latest to join the party.
"He's sitting there at 8.5 sacks on the year now," Watt said this week on the Pat McAfee Show. "I mean, he's in the top 3 for sacks. He's playing good ball. He's getting after the quarterback, he's got some moves that are coming along, he's got some power, he's got some speed.
"They obviously have dogs on that defensive line. I mean, Dexter Lawrence is incredible. This is what they wanted to see from (Thibodeaux). If you can do this consistently in New York, you can turn into a superstar. It's a lot of fun to watch."
In his first season in the NFL, Thibodeaux recorded four sacks, six tackles for loss and 13 quarterback hits across 14 games. His performance earned him a fourth-place finish in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, helped in part by his late-season surge that saw him pick up three sacks in his final five regular-season games.
Just eight games into his sophomore season, Thibodeaux has already doubled his rookie season sack total in addition to eight tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits. The defensive coordinator told the media that the sky is the limit for the young edge rusher's potential.
"Kayvon, like I said, there is no ceiling on him and how good he can be," defensive coordinator Wink Martindale told reporters Thursday. "It's his personality. It's his work ethic. It's how he was raised. It's all those different things that go into it, and how much he likes to receive coaching. Like I said, he's a guy that I always want to be around, and that makes it fun to come to work...
"You guys know how I feel about Kayvon. I stand up here and say it every day. I told him, hell, I feel like I'm his attorney sometimes standing up here. But I really do. I think he's a great person. He's becoming a leader of this defense as well. I think that his hard work is really paying off for him."
View photos of the Giants on the practice field ahead of the Week 9 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders.
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