NFL Draft: What's DE Aidan Hutchinson Flaw that Could Slide Him to Falcons?

Michigan standout Aidan Hutchinson is thought by many to be a top-three - or maybe even a top-one - talent in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Is there a way the Atlanta Falcons could end up selecting college football’s best defensive end with the eighth-overall pick?

It is a theory floated by Pro Football Network’s Ian Cummings, and we need to be clear: It's early. And it's a theory.

But come April 28, maybe as a result of the NFL's penchant for what we like to call "paralysis through over-analysis,'' Cummings believes Hutchinson could slide.

Why? Short arms.

Writes Cummings: “Arm length matters in the trenches. It’s not a reason to rally against a prospect on its own, but in a tightly contested EDGE class, it could make a difference (for some teams) between Aidan Hutchinson and somebody else. Hutchinson is rumored to have sub-33-inch arms. Still, he’s a worthy top-10 pick, and a team like Atlanta could be the beneficiary if he falls.''

That, in our minds, would represent a steal.

It's fine for teams to have their pre-designed "molds'' and their favorite "traits.'' But Hutchinson is an athletic 6-6 and 260 pounds, a "twitch'' and a "motor'' that scouts rave about, and production - the thing that matters most - that won him the Ted Hendricks award, handed to the nation’s top defensive end.

"Short arms''? Wouldn't that figure to have hurt him at the college level as well ... and yet Hutchinson set a single-season sack record for the Wolverines with 14 sacks.

Teams absolutely prefer a certain height, a certain weight, a certain speed, and all the other measurables, and long arms are better than short ones. Butwe're going to bet that by the time we get to April and teams have built their draft boards, all 32 of them will have Hutchinson ranked as a top-eight guy.

And that - forgetting for a moment the Falcons' need, which should be secondary to just collecting pure and productive talent - is why he merits excitement when envisioned in a Falcons uniform.

And if he comes even close to his Michigan level of performance? Standout Aidan Hutchinson will be measured by sacks. Not by arm length.