Aidan Hutchinson: Serious Dan Campbell Benefitted Detroit Lions

After a long offseason, longer than most Detroit Lions fans and players were expecting, it is officially game week in Motown.

The Lions are back in action on Sunday, hosting the New Orleans Saints at Ford Field.

Ahead of the Week 1 matchup, Lions team captain and star EDGE rusher Aidan Hutchinson appeared on 97.1 The Ticket to discuss the game among a wide variety of topics. Hutchinson was revealed as a player that will be appearing on the "Karsch and Anderson" regularly throughout the NFL season.

Dan Campbell’s demeanor has changed this offseason, with the coach being much more of a serious face compared to years past. Hutchinson commented on it, with support for Campbell's new game face.

“Yeah, I’m all about it,” Hutchinson said. “It’s normal. When you have the team that we have last year, didn’t make the playoffs, some stuff has got to change. Players make a change, and as coaches, I guess that is what he thought had to change. We all have faith in that, we trust it, it was a tough camp, very physical camp.

"Just because we didn’t have joint practices doesn't mean we didn’t work. We got even more work than we ever have. I thought it was very beneficial. That’s the name of the game. If it doesn’t work, you got to change something up.”

The talented defender started with his excitement in being back in action. As a star player, Hutchinson did not appear in the preseason, as is the case with most starters under Campbell.

“Yeah, it’s week one, it’s game week,” Hutchinson said. “It’s always exciting. Week one has a lot of buzz, yeah man, I cannot wait. It’s going to be a ton of fun to be back at Ford Field on Sunday.”

The former No. 2 overall pick was asked about his lack of joint practices or preseason games and how that builds his excitement. Hutchinson agreed, citing how six straight weeks of facing off with All-Pro Penei Sewell and first-round pick Blake Miller have the EDGE ready to see someone else across the line of scrimmage.

“Yeah, man, I’ve been going against Penei (Sewell), Blake (Miller), all those guys for six weeks now. You’re just like, ‘I’m done. I’m ready to go against someone else this week,’” Hutchinson explained. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

Detroit Lions offensive tackle Blake Miller (76) during pregame warmups before Commanders game | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On the topic of Miller’s development, Hutchinson had tons of praise for the rookie from Clemson.

“What I respect the most about Blake, if I give him a look, he’s constantly evolving. It’s rare when I give him a certain look that he won’t recognize that in the future if I do it again,” Hutchinson revealed. “Honestly, out of a rookie, that is all you can really ask for. Someone who can grow and learn as fast as they can. I was trying to give him as many different looks as I could during training camp in order to prepare him for going against some of these other teams. He was doing a great job of evolving. He rarely makes the same mistakes twice. I’m excited to see how he develops throughout the season.”

Hutchinson then dived into why the Lions are ready to make their step to the next level.

“We’ve got all the right leadership in place,” the Pro Bowler said. “From a defensive perspective, we’ve also got a ton of faith in Shep (Defensive Coordinator Kelvin Sheppard) this year. He’s coming off his first year as a coordinator and I think he’s really evolved at a high level. We have a lot of faith in him. We just got to go out there this season and execute. I think he’s going to put us all in a great position, so just go make a play.”

Hutchinson breaks down the defensive line room

One of the new additions to the defensive ends room, longtime divisional opponent D.J. Wonnum, also has Hutchinson excited.

“D.J., I think he’s going to be a great player for us, man,” Hutchinson explained. “Real great compliment on the other side. He plays with a lot of length, you know? Got super long arms, he’s able to really press that pocket with the long arm and the stab. Super athletic, too. I’m really excited to see what he does on Sunday. I think, the whole rotation really, with Derrick Moore and the d-tackles we got, it’s going to be a fun d-line this year.”

Another defensive line piece expected to aid Hutchinson in pass rushing is Alim McNeill, who struggled to return to form from injury in 2025. Hutchinson touched on his own experience returning from a severe lower leg injury, and expressed confidence in his new co-captain.

“Yeah (he will be back to form), I think it’s always tough coming back from injury, especially, the one he had,” Hutchinson expressed. “It’s a lot going on physically, mentally, emotionally, everything. I think he’s back, he’s better than ever, for sure.”

Tyler Lacy was the next player Hutchinson broke down, and it was easy to hear the smile and laugh as the star described the Oklahoma State product.

“Lacy, man, he’s great energy,” Hutchinson said. “He’s always coming in to the locker room, he provides a great friend amongst all of the defensive line. His play speaks for itself. He’s been our Big End in base for a couple of years now. He’s just a monster inside, man. Definitely a gentle giant off the field. He’s a great friend, for sure.”

Challenges facing Saints

This week, the Lions take on the Saints, who have been called a ‘sleeper’ team around the league, with the expectations of taking a step up this year. It is clear Hutchinson believes that too, and is not overlooking the NFC South team.

“Yeah, man, they’re dynamic on offense. With Alvin (Kamara) out, we just have to deal with (Travis) Etienne, and the quarterback is dynamic, he can run,” Hutchinson said about Tyler Shough. “Got to account for that. Just a lot of, lot of dynamic pieces on offense that I think we have to account for. If we just do our game, do our job, execute the game plan, we’ll get the job done.”

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