With the second pick in the 2022 NFL draft, the Detroit Lions select Michigan EDGE Aidan Hutchinson.
GRADE: B+.
I love Hutchinson as a culture-definer and a speed rusher with the most ridiculous counter in this draft class. He does have some power with his speed-to-power moves, but he’s more of a T.J. Watt type than a true aggressor who’s going to slip inside and beat up on guards. So, while I would have preferred Jermaine Johnson II or Kayvon Thibodeaux in this spot, the fit is obvious.
Height: 6’6 5/8″ (96th) Weight: 260 (31st)
40-Yard Dash: 4.74 seconds (70th)
10-Yard Split: 1.62 seconds (70th)
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: 36 inches (80th)
Broad Jump: 112 inches (70th)
3-Cone Drill: 6.73 seconds (99th)
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.16 seconds (94th)
Wingspan: 78 1/8 inches (11th)
Arm Length: 32 1/8 inches (7th)
Hand Size: 10 1/4 inches (78th)
Bio: Hutchinson’s father Chris, who is now an emergency room physician in Royal Oak, Michigan, played defensive line for the Wolverines from 1989-1992, so Aidan Hutchinson’s decision to follow in his father’s footsteps was a natural one, despite the fact that the four-star recruit from Divine Child High School in Dearborn, Michigan could have his pick of major programs. He made Third Team All-Big Ten in 2019, was limited by an ankle injury in 2020, and blew up in 2021, winning Consensus All-American, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award, and First Team All-Big Ten. He was also named a team captain, and was a Heisman runner-up. Hutchinson’s 14 sacks in 2021 is the school’s single-season record.
Stat to Know: Only San Diego State’s Cameron Thomas had more total pressures (77) than Hutchinson’s 74 among draft-eligible edge-rushers in 2021.
Strengths: Hutchinson’s counter moves should be the envy of this class of edge defenders, and they show up a lot. The counter is his primary attribute, and it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that he tested off the charts in the three-cone drill and the 20-yard shuttle. This run stop against Wisconsin may have you wondering if we sped it up. We didn’t.
Hutchinson accentuates his speed at times by using the tackle as leverage to get a push, and additional momentum to the quarterback. It’s a savvy thing he can take right to the NFL.
He didn’t play inside a lot (24 snaps in 2021), but you can see how he could really mess with NFL protections as a multi-gap rusher with his lateral speed.
Hutchinson can also jump gaps from the outside, as he showed against Western Michigan. His lateral quickness is rare, and quite productive.
This lateral agility extrapolates to his ability to close in the open field — Hutchinson is fast linebacker-fast in this regard.
Weaknesses: Hutchinson is not a power player outside of a speed bull-rush at times, and his 100-MPH play demeanor can get him in trouble. Such as when he’s going for a speed rush against Ohio State, and he gets nuked by a tight end in motion.
Here’s another example against Maryland. Hutchinson doesn’t have a true power aspect to his game if you reduce the effects of his speed and quickness. If we can pick these plays out, you can bet that Hutchinson’s more enterprising NFL opponents are going to counter him with moving blockers until he figures that out.
Conclusion: I’m not surprised that Hutchinson is frequently mocked to the first overall pick; given his on-field effect and leadership attributes, he looks to be a franchise-definer wherever he goes. And if your team needs a speed rusher who can shoot his way to the pocket with everything from raw speed moves to counters that will have offensive tackles wondering what just happened, you can’t do any better in this class. However, I do wonder if NFL teams in need of more powerful men with more gap versatility might look elsewhere. That’s not to denigrate Hutchinson; he’s very defined in what he does, and he’s amazing with it. It’s a matter of scheme and taste.
NFL Comparison: T.J. Watt. I’m not comparing Hutchinson to the T.J. Watt that is now playing at a Defensive Player of the Year level for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But there are a lot of similarities to the Watt that came out of Wisconsin and was selected by Pittsburgh with the 30th overall pick in the 2017 draft. Back then, the word on Watt was that he had so many of the attributes you want as a speed-rusher, but things were lacking on the power side. Watt was able to solve those issues, and I’d like to think that Hutchinson can as well — perhaps to the point where he becomes just about as scheme-transcendent as Watt is now. Until then, Hutchinson’s status as EDGE1 is a bit of a projection — at least in this space.