New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale put Kayvon Thibodeaux on notice last week during joint practices with the Detroit Lions, and Thibodeaux addressed that on Wednesday, saying he has no problem with what Martindale did.

“Players love to know what they need to get better at,” Kayvon Thibodeaux said, according to Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “The last thing anybody needs at this level of the game is for somebody to blow smoke to them.”

The Giants and Wink Martindale have a lot riding on Kayvon Thibodeaux. They selected him with the No. 5 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He showed promise during his rookie season, but the team hopes he puts it all together in year two and lives up to expectations.

Thibodeaux said that Martindale holding him accountable shows him that the team believes in him to become a very good player in the league.

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“[It was] him wanting to let me know that he feels I can be a Pro Bowler this year, he feels I can kind of take the league by storm, and me knowing that him saying it really doesn't mean much, right? It's about what I do every day,” Thibodeaux said, via Patra. “That's kind of the conversation that we had: that I am the only one that can get me to the places that I want to be.”

Thibodeaux improved as his rookie season went on by getting more consistent pressure, and some of his best games coming on big stages. He had a very good game against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving, consistently pressuring Dak Prescott. He also had a big game on Sunday Night Football against the Washington Commanders, with a strip sack in which he recovered the ball and scored a touchdown.

The Giants hope to see Thibodeaux turn into the elite edge rusher that many believed he would be in the NFL.