Kayvon Thibodeaux
Mark J. Rebilas | USA TODAY Sports

The Giants have not had a productive pass rush in years. They also have the Nos. 5 and 7 picks in this year’s NFL draft. So it makes sense they would bring in Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux for a pre-draft visit. And it sounds like much is riding on that visit, happening Thursday in East Rutherford.

From The New York Post:

The Giants need to be completely comfortable with Thibodeaux and might have to be convinced he is right for the program they want to build with new head coach Brian Daboll.  A source with knowledge of the Giants’ thinking last month at the Owners Meeting in Palm Beach, Fla. said the team had concerns Thibodeaux was more interested in creating his own brand than becoming a great player. That Thibodeaux initially chose Wasserman Media Group as his representation and then switched to Klutch Sports Group, a sports agency founded by LeBron James, did not go unnoticed.

The Giants talked themselves out of drafting Micah Parsons last year, then saw him become one of the league’s best defenders for the Cowboys. Going back a few years, they passed on Laremy Tunsil after he fell to them after the Gas Mask Bong Incident. And now it sounds like they are ready to potentially pass on Thibodeaux because he has a big personality and hired LeBron’s agents.

Look, if he’s not the pick, he’s not the pick. Thibodeaux was a good player at Oregon and has plenty of upside, but we’re not going to stand on the table and say he has to be the pick if he even gets to No. 5 (he could go second overall to the Lions potentially). That being said, it’s funny how the Giants — an organization that still proudly rolls Lawrence Taylor out from time to time in the year 2022 — always manage to get hung up on stuff like this during draft time. And then stink again come the fall.

James Kratch is the managing editor of ESNY. He previously worked as a Rutgers and Giants (and Mike Francesa) beat reporter for NJ Advance Media.