Every NFL Draft cycle sees a top player fall down the board. Whether its as drastic as Myles Jacks slide all the way out of the first round, or as slight as Penei Sewells fall from a surefire top three pick down to the Lions at seventh overall, its bound to happen to one of the big names. The draft proce s is still in its early stages, but there are already signs that Oregon edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux might be that guy come late April. Thibodeaux, who was the consensus top overall pick throughout the entire last season barring a quarterback Eric Murray Jersey breakout that never occurred from a scouting perspective has now been pa sed by But Hutchinson isnt the only one who has leapfrogged Thibodeaux, at least in the eyes of several prominent scouts and pundits. Thibodeaux is routinely guys like Evan Neal, Ikem Ekwonu, Charles Cro s and Kyle Hamilton.So what does that mean for the New York Jets, who hold the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft?For starters, it means a player nobody expected to be on the board a few months ago just might be in play for Gang Green. A conversation hardly worth having is all of a sudden pushed to the forefront. If Thibodeaux is on the board at No. 4, do the Jets pull the trigger?Several experts do believe Thibodeaux will be playing his football at Metlife Stadium next year. However, those experts expect him to be donning blue, not green. When Fox Sports The Herd host Colin Cowherd was asked on his podcast about the most interesting conversation he had with a draft prospect, he was quick to reference Thibodeaux. He thinks hes going to the New York Giants, Cowherd said.If Thibodeaux is available at four, the Jets need to make sure that doesnt happen. Simply put, they cant po sibly turn in the card fast enough.READ:The NFL Draft proce s is long and arduous, and teams have ample time to overthink things, to talk themselves out of the solutions that have become conforming over the prior months. Allowing Thibodeaux to slip down the board would likely be an example of that in several front offices. The sophomore out of Westlake Village, California was the top prospect in the country coming out of high school back in 2019. When he burst onto the scene at Oregon that fall, he cemented himself as the frontrunner to be the first non-quarterback off the board the moment he became draft- Sheldon Richardson Jersey eligible. From that time until the moment he stopped playing in early December, that hadnt waivered. Only when the lights went out on the 2021 season did anything change. Thibodeaux was the best prospect in the country playing arguably the second most important position in football, one that has been a need for the New York Jets for more than a decade.He also checks off every box of what NFL teams should be looking for in an edge rusher. From a size perspective, he was made in a lab at 6-foot-5, 258 pounds. Couple that with his athleticism and its not hard to tell that he is head and shoulders better than everyone he is playing with and against. His speed around the edge is next-level. Hes often a full yard ahead of his Duke Johnson Jersey fellow pa s rushers just half a second after the ball is snapped. Watch him burst through the line and lay out Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener before he can even get to his second read:Scroll to ContinueThibodeaux has the rare ability to win with regularity off the edge because of his bend at top speed. When he can get a step on tackles and dip under their arms to keep his center of gravity low without sacrificing balance, he can wreck games like no other defensive player in this cla s, something he has been doing for three years at Oregon.There are a handful of starting NFL tackles that wont be able to stay with him when hes operating on that level. He will wreck those games and force double teams away from interior linemen like Quinnen Williams, who has been victimized by them early and often in his career.Of course, Thibodeaux is more than just a one-trick pony. He uses his speed to counter inside, showing off an arsenal of pa s rush moves that has become incredibly refined over his time in Eugene. When those dont work, he can just as easily bull-rush tackles to blow up plays in the backfield. Watch him dominate California left tackle Will Craig with his athleticism. On top of it all, Thibodeaux is a legitimate force against the run, a must-have for a Jets unit that was 29th in football against the run last season. He ranked third amongst Power Five edge rushers in tackles for lo s or no gain over since he started his career in 2019, per Pro Football Focus.Critics of Thibodeaux will knock his effort, the hearsay that has ripped through NFL circles as of late. Nobody is on the record with this criticism, and there doesnt seem to be anything in his tape that suggests that he is, in fact, taking plays off. Largely, these are buzzwords. They shouldnt move the needle. The last premier pa s rusher who supposedly took plays off in college was Myles Garrett. He looks just fine in the Seth DeValve Jersey NFL.If Thibodeaux was taking plays off and was still able to coast to the Joe Schobert Jersey level of production he achieved at Oregon, then the sky is really the limit in the NFL.Thibodeaux isnt just the best prospect in the draft, though. Hes a better fit than anyone else the Jets could po sibly select at No. 4. Derek Stingley Jr. and Sauce Gardner dont seem to be the likely choice if the Douglas regime or draft projections suggest anything. Neither does Kyle Hamilton after the Jamal Adams debacle, no matter how hybridized Hamiltons play style might be. That leaves the offensive tackles. If the Jets go tackle at four, theyre either replacing Becton and prematurely admitting a failure of the first pick of the Douglas era or theyre kicking that tackle into right guard for the first season and using him as a replacement in the event of injury or poor performance down the road. The first is unlikely and irresponsible. The second is a poor positional valuation. What makes more sense with a top five pick? A guard/contingency plan at tackle or a game-changing pa s rusher? The Jets can take Tyler Linderbaum at 10 or someone like Zion Johnson at 35. Theyll only get one chance at a Kayvon Thibodeaux.If they are fortunate enough to get it, they cant let it slip.MORE: