Lions take Aidan Hutchinson, bringing hometown hero to Detroit | PFF Draft Show
The PFF team discusses the Detroit Lions selection of Aidan Hutchinson at No. 2 in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Video Transcript
- We figured if they were turning in the card quick, it was for the hometown hero and it absolutely is. Aidan Hutchinson going number two overall to the Detroit Lions. You see him walking to the stage now. And Austin, I'm going to go right back to you because you were at the center of the Hutch podcast that we did.
It was such an incredible deep dive into this dude's background. Just where he's been throughout high school, his upbringing, his parents were involved in the podcast. It was great to hear from kind of the roots that he was coming from, the coaching that he's gotten. How was that? Getting to sit down and really just get to know Hutchinson, and what kind of player are the Lions getting at two overall?
- It was absolutely fantastic. I mean, it was getting to know what could be a top five pick, right? A guy that is just putting so much work throughout his life to be as good as he was, right? He's a guy who's been journaling since he was five years old. And in that journal he wrote, I want to be a top five pick.
In that journal, he wants to be in the Heisman conversation, he wants to do all these things. He's accomplished so much of that. And to stay home too is huge. His mom has been to every game since high school. His dad has missed one game, and it was one of lacrosse game got rescheduled. So this is going to be so huge for the Hutchinson family, obviously to stay there in Detroit.
And guess what? Detroit gets a damn good football player. The best football player in all of college football last year, in my opinion. And a guy that I think can develop into so much more than what people are talking about, right? Aidan Hutchinson is not this low-ceiling player. He is a phenomenal athlete with really good size. Obviously the arm length is low percentile, but I think he's passed that with how skilled he is as a pass rusher. Detroit Lions, this is a slam dunk.
- Chris had a lot of praise for him. Mike, what do you think about this pick here? This is your number one overall player.
- Number one overall player. Lions, slam dunk. That's why their pick got dropped in so early. 6 foot 7, 260. 4.7 for 40 doesn't sound great, but 36 inch vertical, 28 bench reps. And here's the kicker. 4.15 short shuttle, that's 95th percentile among the edge position. And then a 6.73 comp, which is the third best all time for the edge rushing position behind only Von Miller and Bruce Irvin.
The sixth best weight adjusted three cone of all time. The only defensive end better, JJ Watt. So if you're in company with JJ Watt, Von Miller, Bruce Irvin athletically, I think you might be able to get after the passer. And so people are talking about this late breakout, a senior coming out. One, he's still kind of young. He's only six months older than a guy like Travon Walker is in this draft class.
But he dropped 20 pounds from his sophomore year to his senior year. He played inside a lot more as a sophomore, purely outside this past year. And he flourished at that lighter weight. Much more spry, much better. And Chris hit the nail on the head earlier when he said, this guy gets to the rim like a power forward the way he can rush off the edge. He has that quickness, that innate ability to get around guys.
94.5 overall grade, second behind only Chase Young at the edge position. Chase Young, 2019 season in terms of the highest graded seasons that we've seen in college football over the last eight years. Yes, he has 32 and 1/8 inch arms. Yes, they are short. He probably doesn't like wearing cargo shorts, probably can't get into those pockets.
But here's the thing. He has had short arms his entire life. That is not new. And he had short arms and he dominated college football last year. So I'm not too worried about it.
- Detroit last year, only one player with over 21 pressures the entire year. And that was former Miami Dolphins d round pick, Charles Harris. Sort of a retread player. This not only is the best player in the draft, but it fits a need for Detroit, which is big as they rebuild.
- Chris, you like it? Him staying home, Michigan?
- I do. I love that part of it. First of all, you've got a Georgia kid going to Jacksonville. You've got a Michigan kid staying in Michigan, right? And we may end up next with Houston having an LSU kid come right down in Stingley. So maybe they're going to sell a few extra tickets on the side with some of these picks as well.
But I've got to say that I think that Dan Campbell, who was kind of made out to be a little bit of a joke with his press conference and the whole thing, you watch these guys play last year, and they didn't have a whole lot of offense from the quarterback position. They didn't have a great passing game and everything to go with it.
But they are beating the crap out of people. I mean, physically they are taking some of the top end teams-- because I'm studying for Sunday night so I would never studying Detroit, but I'm studying teams that play Detroit the previous week-- and I'm going, they are mauling the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are mauling some of the best teams in football.
And so now they're going to add to that. And I could almost swear they're going to pick a quarterback at number 32 in this first round here. And I don't know who it's going to be. I don't even know that they care who it's going to be.
- We're a long way away from 32, Chris. You can't get too much ahead of it right now.