Aidan Hutchinson had himself an impressive rookie campaign for his hometown Detroit Lions. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft burst onto the scene with 9.5 sacks, 52 tackles, three INTs, two fumble recoveries and nine TFLs. The performance earned Hutchinson the runner-up as the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year and helped spearhead a Lions defense that got significantly better as the seasons progressed.
The trick for Hutchinson is to build on his strong rookie campaign. To get an idea of what to expect from Hutchinson in Year 2, I took a look back at some similar historical comps and how they performed in their sophomore NFL seasons.
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The players chosen here are all top-15 overall selections who weigh above 260 pounds and play the EDGE spot at least somewhat similar to Hutchinson — versatile alignment with power to speed as a preferred (but not exclusive) rush tactic.