Notes: Kayvon Thibodeaux sought NFL advice from Lions’ Penei Sewell

It’s Kayvon Thibodeaux Day in Detroit Lions media, apparently. After NFL insider Josina Anderson dropped a report that the Lions’ “current mindset” is to select Thibodeaux with the first overall pick, Lions head coach Dan Campbell jumped in quickly to dispel the rumor.

The entire story was sparked by a 40-minute conversation Anderson had with Thibodeaux that is well worth your time, though. There’s even a bit of a Lions tie-in there, too.

Being picked first overall was a big topic of conversation. Thibodeaux said he’d feel blessed to go anywhere in the draft, but he admitted there is something special about going first overall.

“For me, I feel like No. 1 is history,” Thibodeaux said. “I’m a guy who talks about you either make history or you be history.”

As for where he goes, he feels his skill set and his devotion to football will make him a good fit wherever he ends up landing.

“Personally, I feel like I’m MacGyver,” Thibodeaux said. “I’m a guy who, once an opportunity is put in front of me, I’m going to learn it. I’m going to do everything I can to get the job done. Whether it be the position I’m used to playing or a position I’ve never played before, I’m going to make sure that I’m prepared in the preseason so when the season comes, to do the best I can at that job.”

At one point in the interview, Anderson brings up Thibodeaux’s former teammate, Penei Sewell. Now with the Lions as a 2021 first-round pick, Thibodeaux admitted he’s still in contact with Sewell and recently talked to him about life in the NFL.

“I talked to him last week and I was asking him about the different games and the different things he has to do,” Thibodeaux said. “He was talking about how now this is his only job. So he really gets to love it and enjoy it and not have that weight on his shoulders of turning in papers, going to class or doing different things. Now he can focus on his body, he can focus on his mental health, then he can really focus on his family and playing football. Just knowing that and knowing you have all the time in the world to hone in on your craft, it just made me happy all over again.”

With all the talk about Aidan Hutchinson locally, this interview is a nice way to get to know Thibodeaux. The Oregon Duck talks about his decision to sit out the bowl game, who he models his own game after, producing his own cryptocurrency, his plans to create a charter school in southern California, and the importance of mindset and work ethic when it comes to being a football player. If you’ve got a spare 40 minutes, this is definitely worth your time.

• Tyrell Crosby, who remains on the Lions’ injured reserve list but is scheduled to become a free agent in March, underwent surgery this week. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, he was misdiagnosed during training camp but had a recent procedure on this back:

• Jared Goff and Kalif Raymond talked about the expansion of the passing game and the improved play of the wide receiver corps on Wednesday. DetroitLions.com has more on that.

• Amon-Ra St. Brown is having a pretty darn good rookie year for the Lions:

• Want to know what the Lions are getting in new safety Brady Breeze (besides someone with an awesome name)? Lions Wire’s Jeff Risdon has some more info.

• “No one wants to watch the Lions on Thanksgiving,” they say.

• Pretty cool collection of videos put together by our friends at the Detroit Lions Podcast in support of Jerry Jacobs, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury on Sunday: