Aidan Hutchinson of the Lions Issues a Warning to the NFL as a Whole
With a new career-high 11.5 sackBreaking news:s in 2023, Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson made his way into the Pro Bowl. But that is insufficient.
Hutchinson stated that he thought the 2023 season went well, but he also stated that he expected himself to improve even more.
“I believe that the entire year was one of development. Adversity both individually and as a team, I believe, was present. And it made me just try to learn as quickly as I could,” Hutchinson said to Dannie Rogers of Detroitlions.com. But I’m having a great time with this process. That is the main focus. I think I’ve come a long way this year.
However, I believe there are still a ton of levels to be unlocked. I therefore look forward to realizing my full potential going forward.
Hutchinson recorded 11.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss, 33 quarterback hits, and 7 pass defenses in 2023. Each of those figures exceeded the totals Hutchinson achieved during his rookie campaign in 2022.
Hutchinson then recorded three sacks, three tackles for loss, eight quarterback hits, and two pass defenses in three playoff games.
After a stellar rookie season, Hutchinson improved even further in 2023, finishing second in the league with 101 pressures during the regular season. More importantly, though, Hutchinson performed best in the biggest games, recording eight sacks in the team’s final five games, including the postseason, after Christmas. During that stretch, he also recorded 19 total tackles, including 10 tackles for loss and 18 quarterback hits.
December and January are when the best players on the NFL’s top teams reach their peak. For Hutchinson, that was undoubtedly the case, which is encouraging for his future and a postseason run the following year.
Regretfully, Hutchinson didn’t play as well in the NFC championship game as some of his teammates did. In the game, he had neither a tackle nor a sack.
That should only stoke the 23-year-old’s flames, though, as he has high hopes for his third season and wants to improve even further.
Hutchinson’s inability to control something is one way he can improve. The Lions, though, can.
Without much assistance from the rest of his defense, Hutchinson amassed double digits in sacks and generated 101 pressures. No other Detroit defensive player had more than three sacks, although defensive tackle Alim McNeill recorded a career-high five sacks.
Because of this, early in the offseason, the Lions were linked to edge rushers who were first-round graded and pending free agents.
Hutchinson is only 23 years old, so opposing offensive lines would not be able to concentrate all of their attention on stopping him if Detroit added an edge rusher to play opposite him.
That might result in Hutchinson achieving even greater success.
Bucky Brooks of NFL.com predicted on January 24 that the Lions would select Penn State edge rusher Chop Robinson in their first 2024 mock draft. On January 10, Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic projected that the Lions would select Ohio State edge rusher JT Tuimoloau.
The Report on Bleachers This offseason, the NFL scouting department recommended Haason Reddick, an outside linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles, to the Lions for trade.
According to Gordon McGuinness of Pro Football Focus, defensive tackle Justin Madubuike of the Baltimore Ravens is a fantastic free agent fit for Detroit despite not being an edge rusher.
Madubuike recorded 33 quarterback hits, 12 tackles for loss, and 13 sacks in 2023—a career high.
