Potential No. 1 Pick Aidan Hutchinson Visits Jaguars
Aidan Hutchinson is in the house.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are hosting a number of prospects for their top-30 visits ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft, and Monday featured the Jaguars rolling out the red carpet for the potential No. 1 overall pick in Michigan edge defender Aidan Hutchinson.
Hutchinson is widely considered to be the favorite to be selected by the Jaguars at No. 1 overall when the first round rolls around on April 28. The Jaguars invested heavily in both the offensive and defensive lines during free agency, but the team has significantly more in place at offensive tackle than they do at pass-rusher.
Hutchinson was a backup as a true freshman, recording 12 tackles and one tackle for loss while also being named the team's 2018 Team Rookie of the Year Award on defense. It wasn't until 2019 that Hutchinson was able to truly shine, but he did so in a big way in his first year as a starter, recording 68 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, six pass breakups, four quarterback hurries, and two forced fumbles.
Hutchinson played in just three games in 2020 due to a fractured ankle that prematurely ended his season. He recorded 15 tackles and one pass deflection in those contests before a monstrous senior season that saw him finish second in Heisman Trophy voting as he was named a consensus All-American. During the 2021 campaign, Hutchinson recorded 14 sacks, 16.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and three pass deflections.
To add onto his production, Hutchinson also tested wonderfully at the NFL Scouting Combine. Standing at 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, Hutchinson ran a 4.74 40-yard dash, had a 4.15-second short shuttle and a 6.73-second three-cone drill. He put up similar numbers to Maxx Crosby and T.J. Watt and those feel like genuine heights he could eventually reach with the entire picture in focus. If the Jaguars want to add an edge rusher at No. 1 overall, Hutchinson seems like the obvious choice.
As Albert Breer explained in March, Hutchinson was set to have a private workout scheduled with the Jaguars (and only the Jaguars) but canceled it in the wake of David Ojabo's injury at Michigan's pro day
"And the fallout? Well, Hutchinson, for one, took notice. He’d planned to work out privately for only one team, and that was the Jaguars, who have the first pick. That workout’s been canceled—and Hutchinson’s agent, Mike McCartney, told me the Jaguars GM Trent Baalke was completely understanding," Breer wrote. "He hopes others will be, too.
“Aidan played 14 games, did everything at the combine and all the position drills at his pro day,” said McCartney, per Breer. “I feel like that’s plenty for teams to figure out who he is as a player.”
"On top of that, McCartney said he’s limiting travel for Hutchinson and another client, NC State OT Ikem Ekwonu, leading up to the combine," Breer continued.
"Both will take trips to visit the Jaguars, Texans and the two New York teams (the Jets and Giants were accommodating in setting up dates for those guys in tandem), and see the teams they’re local to (Lions for Hutchinson, Panthers for Ekwonu), and that’s it."
