Aidan Hutchinson notched the first three sacks of his NFL career in Detroit’s Week 2 win over the Washington Commanders. That’s the kind of direct impact the Lions expected when selecting Hutchinson with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.
But Hutchinson is having impacts beyond the impressive production. No. 97 is already proving to be a focal point of the opposing offense. Through the first two weeks of the season, only San Francisco’s Nick Bosa is double-teamed at a higher rate on the pass rush than what Philadelphia and Washington have utilized to try and slow down Hutchinson.
The graph below, compiled by Seth Walder of ESPN, charts out the rate of double teams and the pass rush win rates. On the latter, Hutchinson falls below the league average win rate among the qualifying pass rushers. But it’s the double-team rate that jumps out.
Teams are already so afraid of what he can do that Hutchinson is getting superstar treatment already. And it’s working for Aaron Glenn’s defense; the Lions lead the NFL in total QB pressures per Pro Football Focus tracking.
That’s the ripple impact Hutchinson brings to the table after just two games. As long as the other Lions, notably Charles Harris and Julian Okwara, keep finding success while the opponent focuses on Hutchinson, the double-teams are welcomed.
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