Detroit Lions invest second overall pick in Aidan Hutchinson

The Lions opted for a local product in Michigan’s defensive star with the second overall pick

The favorite throughout most of the process leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft to be elected with the first overall position, Aidan Hutchinsonis a new member of the defense of the Detroit Lions after being chosen as second in the order.

the product of the University of Michiganconsidered by many analysts to be the best available prospect in a year in which quarterbacks did not provide the best options as a positional group, was selected with the No. 2 pick in the first round.

Hutchinsonwho is coming off a 14-game, 14-sack season for the wolverines –new mark for the program and second most in the FBSafter Will Anderson Jr.–, will be matched in the defensive line of the Lions with charles harris Y Michael Brokerson the hunt for the quarterbacks of the NFC North.

Throughout four seasons in Michigan, Hutchinson he had 17.5 sacks and 27 tackles for loss. In addition, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year he had 10 passes defensed, five forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in four years as a collegiate.

At 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 260 pounds, Hutchinson he should present a formidable challenge to the opposing teams’ offensive tackles. One of the reservations that was had regarding the work of Hutchinson as a collegiate, it’s that he didn’t have a true junior season, appearing in just two games during the abbreviated pro-COVID-19 campaign, though that’s not the player’s fault.

During his senior year of high school, Hutchinson he flaunted his athleticism, lining up sporadically as a tight end for Divine Child. Plus, he has football DNA running through his veins: his father, Chris Hutchinsonwas a defensive tackle and linebacker in Michigan who once tied the Wolverines’ single-season sacks mark of 11, though he had no luck in the NFL after signing as an undrafted free agent with the cleveland browns for medical problems.

Hutchinson finished second in the voting for the Heisman Trophy in the 2021 campaign, trailing only the eventual winner, Bryce Youngquarterback of Alabama.

Among the five former defensive linemen of Michigan selected in the first round since 2002, Hutchinson is by far the highest chosen, following in the footsteps of Brandon Graham (No. 13 in 2010), Taco Charlton (No. 28 in 2017), Rashan Gary (No. 12 in 2019) and Kwity Paye (No. 21 in 2010).