4 top prospects who could fall to the Vikings in the 2022 NFL Draft

Kayvon Thibodeaux – EDGE (Oregon)

Thibodeaux was once seen as a lock to be the first overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. It was for good reason too. The guy has exceptional athletic ability, size, and he was super productive at Oregon to the tune of 126 total tackles, 35.5 tackles for a loss, and 19 career sacks. The guy was a beast whose pass rush ability had been often compared to Danielle Hunter of the Vikings.

Thibodeaux is a rare breed of player who checks off every single box when it comes to a prospect who can become an elite edge rusher in the NFL. In recent weeks, a couple of factors have emerged that are beginning to put a little bit of a stain on his name.

The first is that there have been some rumblings about him not loving the game of football and being more concerned about how much money the game can make him. Supposedly, he was talking about his brand for the majority of an interview with one team at the Combine, and that rubbed that particular team the wrong way.

There have also been some effort concerns when it comes to Thibodeaux, with some noted draft analysts saying that he doesn’t play with the same fire as some other prospects in this draft.  There could be some truth to that, or it could just be intentional negative buzz being put out by a team picking down the board a bit in or for this pass-rushing phenom to fall to them.

Whatever the case, there is a chance Thibodeaux takes a draft day tumble, and if he’s there at pick No. 12, the Vikings shouldn’t hesitate to call his name.