The New York Giants and Kayvon Thibodeaux appear to be at an impasse. To say the 25-year-old’s time in North Jersey has been disappointing would be the understatement of the century.
Since being selected fifth overall in 2022, it’s been a constant battle of injuries and inconsistencies for the former Oregon star, and with him entering the final year of his rookie deal, his fate looks to be sealed. Seemingly every team and their in-law’s sister’s dog with a pass-rushing need has been “linked” to Thibs, and with his value constantly in flux, it’s hard to get a feel for what the Giants could realistically get back in a trade.
SNY’s Connor Hughes reported from the NFL Combine that teams couldn’t picture a world where New York gets more than a fourth-rounder for him. And that got me thinking. Time for some poll work. I took to social media to ask how Big Blue Nation would feel about trading Thibs for a fourth-rounder, and the response was pretty clear.
Thank you to the 266 voters who indulged and played couch GM with me. In an overwhelming majority, Giants fans don’t like the idea of trading Thibodeaux for anything less than a third-round pick, as evidenced by the 193 “Nah” votes:
Would #Giants fans trade Kayvon Thibodeaux (and save $14.75M in cap space) for a 4th-round pick?#CouchGM
— GMEN HQ (@GMENHQ) March 2, 2026
I hope Joe Schoen's paying attention.
Giants fans just made their stance on Kayvon Thibodeaux trade crystal clear
The disconnect here is pretty obvious. League sources are floating a fourth-round ceiling, while 193 out of 266 Giants fans said, “Absolutely not.” And honestly, they’re not wrong.
Thibodeaux hasn’t exactly lived up to the billing of a fifth overall pick, but you also don’t punt on a 25-year-old former top-five edge rusher for Day 3 draft capital for fun. He’s two seasons removed from looking like a legitimate problem (in a good way), and even in an inconsistent year, scouts still view him as a high-upside athlete.
This is where Schoen comes back into the good graces of the fans. Thibs is playing on a $14.75 million fifth-year option, and the extension clock is ticking. If the G-Men don’t see him as part of the long-term plan alongside Brian Burns and Abdul Carter, fine. Move on.
But moving him because the noise is getting louder and the return is convenient would be organizational malpractice. There are enough pass-rush-needy teams out there to create a market. All it takes is one front office convincing itself that a change of scenery unlocks the 11.5-sack version of KT again, and suddenly that “fourth-rounder max” talk starts to look laughable.
At the end of the day, this poll wasn’t really about Thibodeaux. It was about standards. Giants fans aren’t demanding a first-round miracle. They’re asking for fair value. If this truly is the beginning of the end, then the goal can’t be pennies on the dollar. It has to be maximizing the return. And judging by the vote, Big Blue Nation made that crystal clear.