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PFF: Aidan Hutchinson ‘single-handedly’ tanked Washington OT draft stock

isaiah hole
·2 min read
2

One of the consistently great things we’ve seen through three games in Ann Arbor is Michigan football’s pass rush. While it doesn’t always get home, Wolverines senior and team captain Aidan Hutchinson has cemented himself as one of the best edge defenders in the country.

He’s borderline unblockable, and the only way to essentially get around having him come at you if you’re a quarterback is to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible.

PFF agrees, having put Hutchinson as its second-best pass rusher in the country, placing him fifth overall on its updated NFL draft board, behind only Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux.

One of the biggest risers from the PFF draft board, Hutchinson has taken his game to another level as a pass rusher. He currently owns the highest pass-rush win rate in the country and has already faced a top-50 offensive tackle in Washington’s Jaxson Kirkland.

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What’s more, when Hutchinson faced Jaxson Kirkland, he put him on skates. Multiple times.

PFF, of course, noticed and gave Kirkland a bit of a fall down its list as a result.

Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson single-handedly caused Kirkland to tumble down this list, as his play strength concerns got exposed by the Michigan edge rusher. The senior tackle allowed two sacks and four total pressures in that game. He’s still a nimble 6-foot-7 with the kind of mirror ability you want to develop at tackle.

Hutchinson isn’t the only Michigan player that made PFF’s 100 NFL draft board. Safety/nickel Daxton Hill came in at No. 51 overall.

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Ranking Big Ten teams through 3 weeks according to PFF grades