When the Detroit Lions held the second overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, there was very little belief that the Lions were going to draft Aidan Hutchinson. Many thought he should have been the first overall pick. Meanwhile, as went into the opening night of the draft, there was a lot of speculation that Kayvon Thibodeaux was going to be the Lions selection.
That all changed when the Lions were chomping at the bit to get a player that felt would be an immediate impact player for their defense. When you watch Hutchinson at Michigan or throughout his 18-game career, all signs point to him being a Dan Campbell type of player. He fit exactly what the Lions were looking for in a defender and overall player.
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While Hutchinson had a terrific rookie season with three interceptions and 9.5 sacks, there are many analysts who believe he will take a massive step forward in 2023. In the Detroit Lions win over the Kansas City Chiefs to start the 2023 season, it felt like he did just that.
Even though he didn’t load the stat sheet with tackles for loss, sacks or interceptions, he ensured that his presence would be felt whenever Patrick Mahomes dropped back to pass. Against the Chiefs on Thursday night, Hutchinson had four total tackles, three quarterback hits and four hurries. In total, he had 7 quarterback pressures. Let’s jump into the tape and look at some of the top pass-rushes from Hutchinson in the Lions win over the Chiefs!
Starting with the play above, the Lions defense shows 8 players in the box for the Chiefs condensed set out of 11 personnel (one tight end and one running back). For Hutchinson, he’s aligned in a 4-technique while being head up on the right tackle. Once the ball is snapped, Hutchinson attacks the outside shoulder of the right guard and then quickly swipes the arms of the guard while trying to rip through.
While Hutchinson continues to drive his feet to the quarterback, the guard has no choice but let Mahomes get sacked or get called for holding. Obviously, holding gets called and it forces the Chiefs offense to move back 10 yards.
Moving onto the next play, we’ll see Hutchinson aligned as a 7-technique. Using nothing but pure speed, he’s able to get deep into the backfield and it forces Patrick Mahomes to throw off his back foot. With how Hutchinson sets the edge with his size and speed, Mahomes has to make a decision quickly and isn’t able to roll out and extend plays like he normally does. All of this forces an incompletion.
Finishing up with the last play, we’ll see Hutchinson aligned as a 5-technique off the right tackle. While the Chiefs run a variation of split-zone off play-action, the tight end (Chiefs TE 83) is forced to try and get down the line and block Hutchinson. While that’s a tough task, he does slow Hutch down enough to not get the sack. However, Hutchinson does a great job hitting the tight end with a push-pull and rip move to force Mahomes back into the pocket to quickly get rid of the ball.
All together, the Lions have seen nothing but great things from their former second overall pick. There’s potential for Hutchinson to find himself in the elite category of edge rushers this season. With strong performances like the one he had against the Chiefs, Hutchinson should easily find himself in that category. Most importantly, the Lions should find themselves with a much improved defense for this season and the future.