The Green Bay Packers don't have a first-round pick, but some early chaos on Day 1 could help them land the pass-rusher they need.
For a while, it felt inevitable that the New York Jets would select Ohio State pass-rusher Arvell Reese at No. 2 overall, but he instead surprisingly fell to the New York Giants three picks later. That should have the Packers' attention.
Reese joins Abdul Carter and Brian Burns to form a fierce pass rush in New York, but it could leave Kayvon Thibodeaux on the outside looking in. While ESPN's Adam Schefter notes that the Giants don't plan to trade Thibodeaux, that feels like a smokescreen, and a theory the Packers should test.
The door swings open for the Packers to make a Kayvon Thibodeaux trade
The Giants can reiterate their intentions to keep Thibodeaux all they want, but it would make no sense. He will play out the 2026 season on a fifth-year option that costs the Giants $14.7 million on the cap. But his role will only decrease further with Reese's arrival.
For the Packers, Thibodeaux is well worth making a move for.
While his pass-rush numbers have declined over the past two years, he showed his potential in 2023 with an 11.5-sack season. Beyond that, Thibodeaux is one of the best run defenders at his position. Last year, his 80.7 PFF run defense grade ranked seventh among 115 edge defenders. The Packers struggled badly against the run late in the year, especially once Micah Parsons got hurt, and Thibodeaux would go a long way to fixing that.
And while Thibodeaux's sack numbers haven't met expectations, he still recorded 32 pressures in 10 games. The Packers would take that production.
The Giants can say one thing about his availability, but their actions in the draft tell us another. They have loaded up their pass rush in back-to-back drafts, giving them a formidable trio of Burns, Carter, and now Reese.
Where does it leave Thibodeaux? With any luck, on the next flight to Green Bay, Wisconsin.
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