From the time he was a high schooler in South Los Angeles, Kayvon Thibodeaux was built like a man who would eventually be dominating in the NFL. By the time he arrived at the University of Oregon, Thibodeaux was widely considered to be the presumptive 1st overall pick in whatever draft he eventually made himself eligible for. And even though he slipped to the #5 pick and didn't immediately dominate as many expected he would, we're now approaching the end of Thibodeaux's second season in the NFL and he's beginning to resemble what every scout and analyst expected him to be as a pro. Thibodeaux has clearly made a leap from season one to season two, and it's not just the eye-test that says so. His sacks have nearly tripled and his tackles for loss have doubled, and those are the kinds of plays that have people within the New York Giants organization raving about him.

“I said that the guy has no ceiling. You remember me saying that before. The reason why he doesn't have a ceiling is because he doesn't allow himself to have a ceiling.”

Those are the words of New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale… one of the few individuals in the world who has a front row seat to see what kind of work Kayvon Thibodeaux is putting into his craft on a daily basis. This isn't the only compliment that Martindale would bestow upon Kayvon Thibodeaux the day before his 23rd birthday.

Any time a coach uses the word “savant” to describe an athlete, my ears automatically perk up just a little bit. That's a distinction often reserved for once-in-a-generation athletes like LeBron James, Roger Federer, Tiger Woods who are able to levitate above everybody else in their sport. In the NFL, you hear analysts or coaches call Hall of Famers like Peyton Manning or Ed Reed a savant when reflecting on their careers and what made them so special. For Wink Martindale to casually toss the S-word out there in the direction of the now 23-year-old Thibodeaux, that says a whole lot.