Aidan Hutchinson Knows 'I'm a Dominant Player'
Having been a top-three NFL Draft pick, Aidan Hutchinson understands that the expectations for him, even as a rookie, are through the roof.
The former University of Michigan EDGE defender is expected to be an impact pass rusher immediately for the Detroit Lions.
Yet, Hutchinson, selected by the Lions at No. 2 overall in the 2022 draft, has embraced the pressure that has been placed upon him to perform right away and at a high level.
“I know my expectations,” Hutchinson told reporters Thursday at Detroit's Allen Park practice facility. “I pride myself on not making the same mistake twice. That’s something that I really try to do a lot, and that’s how I know I’m going to keep this upward trajectory. I’m just going to continue to learn and grow every single day I’m out here. I can really feel it, too. Every day I learn something new. I’m screwing up, but it’s okay because that’s kind of what it takes to take that next step.”
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The Michigan native and Dearborn (Mich.) Divine Child High School product is coming off a career-best campaign during his final season playing for Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines.
During the aforementioned 2021 season, the 6-foot-6, 265-pounder amassed a single-season program record 14 sacks. He also recorded a career-high three-sack game in Michigan's upset victory over Ohio State.
Now, he's been tasked with helping to "restore the roar" for a Lions franchise that won just three games a season ago. It's a pretty lofty demand of a first-year pro, but if anyone can handle it, it seems like the ultra confident Hutchinson can.
Detroit head coach Dan Campbell has been impressed by what he's seen out of the pass rusher thus far.
"I told my wife this last night, what’s great about him is (that) he just is quietly getting better right in front of us,” Campbell expressed. “He doesn’t say anything. He listens, he’s like a sponge in there, he absorbs the information, he watches how things are done and the way coaches want them done. Then, he’s got a motor and he goes.
“He just learns, and gets better every day. You just see it, and I love that about him. He’s just -- every day, man, there’s growth right in front of us.”
With every passing day, it's become more apparent the sky's the limit for the uber talented Hutchinson.
Pro Football Focus, for one, believes that "Hutch" will record 57.0 pressures, 9.4 sacks and 16.5 run stops in 2022, the site's best statistical projection for an EDGE defender from the '22 draft class. That would equate to a better season than the one put together last year by veteran Detroit EDGE Charles Harris, who produced a team-high 7.5 sacks.
If Hutchinson has it his way, he's going to be productive, and no matter what type of defense the Lions run.
"If you’re a really good football player, you’re going to be able to be a great player in any scheme,” he said. “I know in every scheme, I’m going to be dominant as a football player.”
