Hutchinson: 'Michigan Is Starting To Become Pathway to Lions'

The University of Michigan football program has recently become quite the pipeline of talent for the Detroit Lions.

This past April, the Lions selected a pair of Michigan defenders with back-to-back picks, drafting EDGE Derrick Moore in the second round and linebacker Jimmy Rolder in the fourth round. Both Moore and Rolder spent four years in Ann Arbor (2022-2025).

The Wolverines duo joins fellow Michigan product Aidan Hutchinson on Detroit’s current approximate 90-man roster.

Hutchinson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, played four seasons for the Wolverines (2018-2021). Among his myriad of accomplishments at U-M, he set the school’s single-season record for sacks with 14.0 during his Heisman Trophy runner-up campaign in 2021.

“I tell you what -- Michigan is starting to become the pathway to the Lions, I guess,” Hutchinson told reporters at OTAs Friday. “Hopefully not though. Before this year, it was like not a single Wolverine was drafted besides me.”

Hutchinson was onto something. Prior to Moore and Rolder being selected, the Lions hadn’t drafted a Michigan player since Hutchinson. And before Hutchinson, the organization hadn’t picked a member of the Wolverines since the 2016 draft: OL Graham Glasgow (third round) and QB Jake Rudock (sixth round).

Moore and Rolder are both expected to play integral roles in Kelvin Sheppard’s defense come day one. While Rolder should compete for the WILL linebacker job in training camp, it’s expected that Moore will log some valuable reps at the EDGE spot opposite Hutchinson.

Lions fans and pundits alike believe that Moore and Hutchinson have a chance to form a potent EDGE tandem, capable of taking the team’s pass-rushing unit to the next level.

Moore is coming off a 10-sack, first-team All-Big Ten season with the Wolverines, while Hutchinson is coming off a career-best 14.5-sack, Pro Bowl-campaign with Detroit.

“I never really met him before,” Hutchinson said of the rookie EDGE defender. “And before he came to OTAs, we got some work in at Schembechler (Hall) actually, so I went back there with him. And it was fun just talking, talking past, seeing his mentality and my mentality and how they differ, you know, how they may complement each other and stuff.”

Along with the two aforementioned former Michigan defenders, the Lions’ EDGE room in 2026 will also feature D.J. Wonnum and Payton Turner. Both Wonnum and Turner were acquired by Detroit in free agency this offseason.

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