On Thursday night, the 2022 NFL Draft will kick off and once the first round begins, all signs point to Michigan EDGE Aidan Hutchinson being one of the top picks.
Hutchinson believes he is worthy of the No. 1 overall pick and on the eve of the draft, he had a message for NFL teams who may think he is just an effort guy.
From Detroit Free Press:
“I think I’ve done enough to prove myself to be the No. 1 pick, for sure, on and off the field, in the combine and from the season,” he said. “But I guess it’s going to come down to the team.”
“People, they don’t classify me as a high-ceiling player, they classify me as a motor guy,” he said. “I’ve had that label for a while now and it’s something that it’s hard to break the label, but you look at my combine, I’m top of the line in a lot of those drills so I think I’m extremely athletic and I think I haven’t even touched my ceiling yet as a player. And people, they want to say I have a low ceiling because I may have had a 14-sack season, but I think I’m just starting to get a hang of this thing.”
“I’ve really worked for this, especially coming from my junior year to now,” he said. “It’s been a long journey but one that all the hard work’s been all worth it. So I’m going to continue to work hard, continue to do what I do and continue to reach new levels.”
As far as being referred to as just a “motor guy” by some draft analysts, Hutchinson does not agree.
“That kind of does piss me off,” he said. “But it’s OK. It’s OK. People have been saying that about me for a while.”
Nation, is Aidan Hutchinson worthy of being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft?
Books on NFL draft: ‘I don’t see how we’re going to win on this’
After a flood of sharp money hit the NFL draft betting market, there was a new favorite to go No. 1 overall by Monday morning. Georgia defensive end Travon Walker was in, and Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was out.
The surprise move at the top spot showed why so many bookmakers despise the exercise of posting fast-moving draft numbers. For the guys behind the counter who are accustomed to winning most of the time, the draft can feel like a no-win proposition.
“It’s my least favorite event to book,” Westgate SuperBook vice president Jay Kornegay said. “It’s just not a favorable event for the bookmakers. I don’t see how we’re going to win on this.”
Kornegay was behind the curve, which is how he wanted it. The Westgate did not post any draft props until Monday afternoon, after Walker and Hutchinson traded places. Hutchinson was the odds-on favorite at most books — as high as -250 — for about a month, but the SuperBook opened Walker -185 to be the first player picked Thursday.
While books such as DraftKings, FanDuel and William Hill aggressively set the market by posting several early props, Circa Sports played the waiting game and also opened a limited menu on Monday.
“I didn’t want to book the draft,” Circa owner Derek Stevens said between drags on a cigarette. “How do you get excited from a bookmaking perspective when the best you can do is a small loss? So the worst you can do is get destroyed.”
