When the Detroit Lions selected Aidan Hutchinson with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, it did not take too long for him to make a good impression in Allen Park.
The Lions' coaches had nothing but good things to say about Hutchinson and his new teammates were equally impressed with his knowledge, work ethic, and athletic ability.
During his first game with the Lions (Week 1 against the Eagles), Hutchinson was pretty much non-existent as he recorded just a single tackle.
Well, that was then and this is now and Hutchinson just set a Detroit Lions rookie record by recording 3.0 sacks in the first half against the Washington Commanders.
According to Detroit Lions PR, this is the first time in franchise history that a Lions rookie has recorded 3.0 sacks in a game, much less the first half.
The Lions lead 22-0 at halftime.
.@Lions DL @aidanhutch97 has recorded 3.0 sacks for a loss of 15 yards in the first half.
Hutchinson is the first Lions rookie to record 3.0 sacks in a game.#OnePride pic.twitter.com/PWlL8HAsBF
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) September 18, 2022
All-Pro C Jason Kelce has high praise for Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson
When the Detroit Lions selected Aidan Hutchinson out of the University of Michigan with the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NFL draft, the hope was that he would come in and immediately make an impact on a defense that was not able to get to the passer in 2021.
During training camp, Hutchinson impressed just about everybody he came in contact with and it seemed like he would be a rookie who dominates right from the get-go.
But in his first game as a professional, Hutchinson struggled against the Philadelphia Eagles as he only picked up one tackle in the game and was not able to put much pressure at all on the quarterback.
Following the game, Eagles All-Pro Center, Jason Kelce had some pretty high praise for Hutchinson.
“He’s like a more athletic, more nimble Jared Allen type player,” Kelce said.
“He has some really, really good stutter bull (rush), long arms, gets extended, can attack you inside, outside or right down the middle and makes it all kind of look the same,” said Jason Kelce. “Speed to power, they lined him up a couple times in this overload set where he’s clearly outside the tackle, coming down with a full head of steam. He’s going to be a really, really good player.”
