It still stings, said Aidan Hutchinson, as it should. Four months removed from the Lions' loss to the 49ers in the NFC championship game, "you wonder if we would have won that game, would we have won the Super Bowl?"
"It was definitely hard to get over that one, knowing how close we were. But I’m confident that this team can make it there and even more," Hutchinson said Thursday as the Lions continue OTA's in Allen Park.
The Lions fell 30 minutes shy of their destination last season, and one game shy of their goal. To go all the way this year, the defense will have to take a significant step forward, which will require another step forward from their best defensive player. Hutchinson racked up 11.5 sacks last year (plus three more in the playoffs) after a late-season surge, and finished second in the NFL in QB pressures and first in QB hits. His next step is literal, finishing the push to the quarterback.
"I definitely feel like I’ve reached a new level this year, in pass rush and just body comp in general," Hutchinson said. "I feel like that’s what happens when you stack years in professional sports."
This will be year three for the former No. 2 pick, who ended last year by going to the Pro Bowl. Hutchinson is a rising player in the NFL, with a rising ceiling. He's knocking on the door of the elite at his position, where players like T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett consistently rank among the league-leaders in sacks. Sacks, as Dan Campbell said Thursday, "aren't that big of a deal as long as you're getting pressures" and forcing the quarterback into negative plays.
"Now, would you rather have sacks? Absolutely, I would rather have sacks," Campbell said.
So would Hutchinson, who battled frustration for much of last season when pressures were the only proof of his growth. It didn't help that he lacked help on the other end of the defensive line. Without another edge rusher to hem in the quarterback, or even another presence up front other than Alim McNeill to collapse the pocket, the quarterback "can kind of hide in a little window, and it can be a half a yard the other way, and that’s all it takes to miss by an arm's length," Campbell said.
Indeed, Hutchinson was an arm's length away from Brock Purdy on arguably the most critical defensive down of the Lions' season, 3rd and 4 for the 49ers near midfield in a 27-24 game with about 4:30 to play. He drove an offensive tackle into Purdy's lap, only to lunge at the quarterback in vain and watch him escape for a 20-yard gain when the rest of Detroit's front four was moved out of the way. The 49ers were in the end zone two plays later and the game was all but over.
Asked about the notion that he needs help on the defensive line, Hutchinson paused and decided, "I'm just gonna pass on that one." If he says he does, he sounds either weak or unappreciative of the players around him. If he says he doesn't, he sounds arrogant. But as Campbell put it, "That will always help, if you’ve got somebody else that can kind of push (the quarterback) to you."
The Lions are hoping that can be Marcus Davenport, the veteran defensive end they signed to a one-year deal. The former first-round pick played for Campbell and Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn when they were assistant coaches with the Saints, and he had a nine-sack season in 2021. He's been hampered by injuries in the past, including last year when ankle surgery limited him to four games with the Vikings.
Davenport hasn't hit the field yet in Detroit, but Hutchinson knows what the 6'6 pass-rusher can do when healthy: "I’ve seen him just wreck some people. He’s an aggressive player, and that’s why (the Lions) love him so much. I’ve seen a couple clips of him just running guys over and I’m like, I respect that. Once he gets on the field, it’s going to be fun."
The biggest newcomer up front is defensive tackle DJ Reader, who should combine with McNeill to give the Lions one of the most fearsome interior duos in the NFL. That will aid the pass rush, too. So will an influx of talent at cornerback, including a new No. 1 in Carlton Davis III and two highly-touted rookies in the draft, after the Lions allowed the most air yards and second most yards per pass in the NFL last season. The whole unit was complicit.
"I’m hoping those guys can be as good as they’re advertised," Hutchinson said of Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw, and the former looked the part when he off a Jared Goff pass intended for Jameson Williams in Thursday's practice. "That’s a D-end’s best friend there, is a corner that can lock down. The more we have of those, the more successful our defense will be."
The pass rush did improve down the stretch last year as Glenn ramped up the pressure, and he won't be dialing it down. To Hutchinson, it felt like Glenn "really turned to his true self of being an aggressive play-caller." Glenn said last week he wants his defense to be "smothering." Detroit will need more from Hutchinson, and much more from the players around him. The team's next three sack leaders last season were McNeill with five, and Alex Anzalone and Ifeatu Melifonwu both with three.
But the Lions' defense ultimately needs stars, and Hutchinson's is rising. His ceiling remains to be seen. With a little more help, he can push the Lions to theirs.