The Los Angeles Chargers drafted much-needed help for Justin Herbert with offensive guard Zion Johnson out of Boston College.
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Justin Herbert has been sacked 63 times.
That’s all you need to know as to why the Los Angeles Chargers used their first round pick on an offensive lineman for the second-straight season.
With the 17th overall pick of the NFL draft, the Chargers selected 6-foot-3, 314-pounder Zion Johnson out of Boston College. Last year, LA selected LT Rashawn Slater with the No. 13 overall pick. The selections are smart if the Chargers want to make sure their quarterback can walk in the coming years.
Herbert is the face of the Chargers franchise and they value him, as they should, with the pick of Johnson. The big offensive guard was a first-team All-American and played three years with the Eagles after a short time in junior college.
The phrase “phone booth guard” was made for Johnson thanks to his wide, girthy frame and immense playing power. Johnson has experience at tackle, but he’s clearly an interior blocker on the next level. He has knock-back pop at the point of attack with the ability to win the block in a test of strength. In space, his limitations become obvious. He’ll need to fit into the right scheme that takes advantage of what he does well and diminishes the athletic limitations. He has a ceiling of starting guard in the NFL, but his ability to deal with the athleticism of NFL defensive linemen on all three downs is a concern both as a run blocker and in pass protection.
There are still two days and six rounds remaining for the Chargers to draft additional help for the former Oregon Duck. Thanks to previous trades, they have nine picks left to do with as they please. Los Angeles did trade some picks for Bears linebacker Khalil Mack last month. It’s a good bet they will trade for more talent in the coming days.
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It’s always tricky to guess which Falcons might be enticed to chase the NFL dream after their time at the Academy, but running back Brad Roberts might consider it if he can duplicate his 2021 season. It isn’t often that a fullback leads Air Force in rushing, let alone the entire Mountain West, but that’s what Roberts did in piling up 1,357 yards and 13 touchdowns on a conference-high 297 carries. He’s a bruiser with enough acceleration to warrant a look as a short-yardage back in the NFL, if nothing else.
In the mix: Zion Kelly, CB; Kyle Patterson, TE; Vince Sanford, LB
Boise State
Pass catchers beware when Broncos safety JL Skinner is in the vicinity. At 6-4 and 220 pounds, he’s earned a reputation as a hard hitter with the range to make plays just about everywhere on the field. In 2021, he collected 92 total tackles, seven tackles for loss and two interceptions, so another big year patrolling the defensive backfield is all but guaranteed to put him on a few big boards by this time next year.
Finally, now that JL Skinner is officially coming back, I’ll just leave this here.
In the mix: Hank Bachmeier, QB; Stefan Cobbs, WR; George Holani, RB; Shane Irwin, DL; Scott Matlock, DL; John Ojukwu, OT
Colorado State
Wide receiver Dante Wright wasn’t always at 100% during the 2021 season, but he remained one of the Rams’ most reliable targets and could be the primary beneficiary of Jay Norvell’s Air Raid offense. The former freshman All-American hasn’t lost any of his potency — he caught at least four passes in every game he played last year and has done so in all but two career games — and could very easily be 2022’s Deven Thompkins if everything breaks right.
In the mix: Cam’ron Carter, LB; Dequan Jackson, LB; Melquan Stovall, WR
Fresno State
Most college football fans remember Jake Haener‘s late-game exploits against UCLA last September, but the Bulldogs quarterback built a strong case throughout all of last year as the best signal-caller in the Mountain West. In throwing the ball nearly 38 times a game, Haener completed 67.1% of his passes for 4,096 yards and 33 touchdowns, also managing a reasonable 1.8% interception rate. While he may not fit the typical NFL quarterback mold (6-1, 195 pounds), his moxie and arm should give scouts plenty to keep an eye on.
In the mix: Dontae Bull, OT; Jalen Cropper, WR; David Perales, DE; Evan Williams, S
Hawaii
Since breaking into the starting lineup as a true freshman back in 2018, defensive tackle Blessman Ta’ala has been a quiet force in the trenches for the Warriors defense, earning a pair of all-Mountain West honorable mentions in 2019 and 2020 and, according to Pro Football Focus, posting a career-best 75.3 grade last season. His ability to eat up space is something not just anyone can be taught, so he might be an example of how the stat sheet doesn’t tell you the whole story.
In the mix: Ilm Manning, OT; Dedrick Parson, RB; Solo Vaipulu, G; Micah Vanterpool, OL
Nevada
Defensive tackle Dom Petersondidn’t have to rejoin the Wolf Pack for one last season, but you can bet fans will be glad he did. Perhaps the best interior defender anywhere in the Mountain West, Peterson has now made 40 starts for Nevada and picked up 22 sacks and 41.5 tackles for loss. Not only could another dominant year put him in the conversation as the program’s best defensive lineman ever, it could entrench him as a prospect to watch.
In the mix: Aaron Frost, OL; Toa Taua, RB; Tyson Williams, S
New Mexico
After leading the Mountain West with four interceptions in 2020, Lobos safety Jerrick Reed II put together another solid campaign last fall and led the team with 92 tackles. He also tied for the team lead with seven pass breakups, moving around the defense to do whatever it took to make stops and bolstering his bonafides as a sure tackler with reliable hands.
Nothing quite like seeing coach Don Johnson celebrate the success of Kayvon Thibodeaux. A video worth your time.
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The NFL draft is always an emotional night when you consider the fact that a number of athletes are receiving life-changing news that they will get to play football at the next level.
However, after the new that Oregon Ducks superstar Kayvon Thibodeaux would be going to the New York Giants with the No. 5 pick in the draft, we got to see a reaction from coach Don Johnson, the Ducks’ Director of Player Personnel who is currently recovering from a serious medical emergency that took place earlier this spring.
Neither the university nor the family have released much information publically about what happened to Johnson earlier this year, but it’s been serious to keep him away from the program for several months.
Now, we are lucky enough to be able to see his reaction to the news that Thibodeaux was getting drafted on Thursday night.
It’s unclear if Johnson will return to the Oregon program in the future and join the team once again, but right now we are focused on his health and giving him and his family time to heal and work towards his recovery.
In the meantime, it’s awesome to see videos like this.
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The NY Giants were able to grab Kayvon at No. 5. What draft grade did they receive for the pick?
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Kayvon Thibodeaux is headed to the Big Apple.
The former Oregon Ducks superstar was selected fifth in the 2022 NFL draft by the New York Giants, setting him up to begin his career in the sports capital of the country.
Thibodeaux was mocked everywhere from No. 2 to No. 10 leading up to the draft, but most believe the Giants have a steal getting Thibodeaux at No. 5.
That includes the fine folks over at USA TODAY Sports’ Touchdown Wire, who gave the Giants an “A” grade for their selection of the Oregon star.
When evaluating players, you have to understand the difference between effort and impact. There are players who make things look easier than they should be, and there are players who aren’t always utilized in all the ways that could make them special. It’s my belief that Thibodeaux suffers from both issues. He’s such an amazing raw athlete, we wind up expecting more of him at times than he may be capable of, given his current techniques and limitations. Is Thibodeaux’s impact muted at times when it shouldn’t be? Yes, but I do not see a consistent effort problem that would drop him down my rankings. I see a player who is not a traditional edge defender, and may be capable of much more in a different structure.
Thibodeaux was the No. 1 recruit in the country when he joined the Ducks in 2019. Over the past three years, he racked up numerous accolades; including Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year, the Morris Trophy as the conference’s top defensive lineman in 2020, and he was a unanimous All-American and first-team All-Pac 12 selection in 2021.
Now he gets a chance to prove his worth in the NFL — and the scrutiny of New York’s notoriously difficult media landscape should add more fuel to his fire.
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Fans of Marcus Mariota, rejoice. The Falcons drafted USC WR Drake London at No. 8, adding to the Oregon legend’s talented young core of pass-catchers.
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Things are really looking up for Marcus Mariota and the army of fans that currently back him across the nation.
After he was signed by the Atlanta Falcons earlier this year and given a chance to rejuvenate his career as a starting quarterback, he also was just gifted a playmaking wide receiver in the NFL draft that has the chance to be transcendent.
With the No. 8 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Falcons selected wide receiver Drake London, from the USC Trojans. At 6-foot-5, 219 pounds, London has the size to be a dominant NFL receiver, and he also ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash at the combine earlier this year.
In three years with the Trojans, London had 2,153 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.
There are a lot of holes on the Falcons’ roster, but with the addition of London, Atlanta has a promising young core of receivers that Mariota can target. Last season, they drafted TE Kyle Pitts in the first round, a generational tight end who finished his rookie season with over 1,000 yards receiving.
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Kayvon Thibodeaux can expect a nice salary and signing bonus in New York. At the 5th pick, his salary is projected to exceed $36 million, with a massive signing bonus.
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Perhaps Las Vegas is the appropriate place to hold the NFL draft with all the money these draft picks are about to sign for, including Oregon’s own Kayvon Thibodeaux.
The New York Giants just selected the former Ducks defensive end as the No. 5 pick of the 2022 draft. Thibodeaux will sign a guaranteed four-year contract. The exact terms haven’t been disclosed yet, but if it’s comparable to what last year’s selection at the same spot made, Thibodeaux’s bank account just got a lot bigger.
Last season, the No. 5 pick was wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals. He signed for a total of just over $31.1 million with a signing bonus of almost $17.8 million. Chase’s rookie salary was just over $5.6 million.
Per OverTheCap, Thibodeaux can expect to see even more than Chase did a year ago.
Thibodeaux’s four-year contract, with a fifth-year club option, is projected to be worth $36,206,254 with a $23,511,820 signing bonus per OverTheCap
The salary is one thing, but none of that takes into account the endorsement deals that Thibodeaux will be able to land in the Big Apple, a market that is among the most lucrative in the entire world.
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Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux is heading to the Big Apple after being drafted at No. 5 by the New York Giants.
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Former Oregon Ducks superstar Kayvon Thibodeaux is heading to the New York Giants.
On Thursday night in the first round of the NFL draft, Thibodeaux was the No. 5 player taken off of the board, where the Giants took him.
It was thought that Thibodeaux, who was projected last summer to be potentially the first overall pick in the draft, might slide in the draft amidst a number of concerns about his work ethic and love for the game, but that obviously wasn’t the case with New York grabbing him off of the board as early as they could.
In New York, Thibodeaux will be put under an immediate spotlight as one of the premier players on the team. He made a name for himself while with the Ducks in Eugene, racking up 126 tackles, 35 tackles for loss, 19 total sacks, and three forced fumbles in his three years at Oregon.
Though the Giants were bullish enough on Thibodeaux to draft him with their first pick, the narratives about him brought up during the draft process will surely put his play under a microscope in his rookie season.
Former Oregon Ducks lineman Jaylan Jeffers announced his transfer to the UCLA Bruins.
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Not long after entering the NCAA transfer portal, former Oregon Ducks offensive lineman Jaylan Jeffers announced that he would be staying in the Pac-12 conference and joining the UCLA Bruins.
Jeffers was a former three-star recruit in the class of 2020 who didn’t play in 2020 and appeared in one game while redshirting in 2021. He still has four years of eligibility remaining with the Bruins.
Jeffers is not the only former Oregon player to transfer to UCLA this season, as defensive back Jaylin Davies did the same earlier in the offseason.
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Kayvon Thibodeaux is dressed his best and ready for the bright lights in Las Vegas ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft.
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With a player as eclectic and personably as Kayvon Thibodeaux, does it come as any surprise that he is front and center on the red carpet ahead of the 2022 NFL draft?
Throughout his college years at the University of Oregon, we watched a young man turn into a dominant force on the football field, all while furthering his education and learning how to market himself as well as any athlete in the nation. He can be seen in numerous commercials — including a new spot released by Beats by Dre on Thursday — and is always seemingly ready for the camera to be pointed in his direction.
So with that said, watching him walk down the red carpet in preparation for the big night, it’s safe to say that Thibodeaux looked to be right at home.
So will an NFL team like the New York Jets decide to take him at No. 4 with his love for the spotlight and fit in the Big Apple? There’s a seemingly good chance he doesn’t even make it that far in the draft. Only time will tell.
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Former Oregon Ducks guard De’Vion Harmon is reportedly headed to Texas Tech after only recently entering his name into the transfer portal.
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The Oregon Ducks lost their second key player in as many days with the news that guard De’Vion Harmon is headed to Lubbock to join the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Harmon began his collegiate career at Oklahoma but joined Dana Altman’s team last year. He averaged 10.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.3 steals per game for the Ducks, serving as a secondary ball-handler to Will Richardson and a key scoring option.
Now he joins a very good Texas Tech team led by Mark Adams – a team that specializes in suffocating defense and grind-it-out style gameplay.
BREAKING: Texas Tech has landed a commitment from Oregon transfer De’Vion Harmon.
Harmon averaged 10.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 2.1 APG, and 1.3 SPG in 2021-22.
Oregon already filled one hole in the backcourt by adding transfer guard Keeshawn Barthelemy from Colorado, and they are getting Rivaldo Soares back for another year as well as incoming freshman guard Dior Johnson.
Still, losing Harmon is a tough pill for Oregon fans, and the very sudden departure will certainly raise some eyebrows amongst the Eugene faithful.
