Michigan native Aidan Hutchinson didn't root for the Lions growing up, but he'll be playing for them next season. The second overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft is bringing his homegrown story from Ann Arbor to Detroit.
"It was the Lions all the way," Hutchinson said Thursday night shortly after being drafted. "The whole draft process I wanted them to pick me."
The Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and runner-up for the Heisman is already forward to playing for Dan Campbell. He said the Lions' head coach is "just one of those guys you want to play for ... one of those guys you want to buy into because you can tell how passionate he is about the game."
"I didn’t even have to meet him," Hutchinson said. "Just seeing him in interviews and how he felt about his team, it just felt so genuine and that’s what I appreciate the most."
When Hutchinson watched the Lions win their first game of the season last year against the Vikings, he took note of how the players immediately embraced their coach.
"Just seeing how he treats his players, they won that game and they all – they got a lot of heart on that team," Hutchinson said earlier this offseason. "Just a couple more pieces to the puzzle and they can be a really good football team."
Hutchinson is now one of those pieces himself -- and the fit is natural. He'll bring his pass-rushing chops to a defense that produced the third fewest sacks in the NFL last season and has ranked among the bottom five teams in QB pressures three years running.
Hutchinson had 14 sacks and 73 QB pressures in 13 games last season and earned the highest overall defensive grade in the country from Pro Football Focus.
"I do it all, on and off the field," Hutchinson said this week. "I'm extremely athletic and I produce obviously on the field. And coming from a Michigan team that went 2-4 my junior year, I really had to step up as a leader and be that cornerstone of the football team. So I think in terms of leadership, athletic ability and production, I check all the boxes."