With the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions selected EDGE Aidan Hutchinson out of the Univerisity of Michigan. According to the Lions’ coaches, Hutchinson has had a great training camp so far but one ‘breakout star’, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, is Austin Bryant.
“I’ve come a long way,” Bryant told a small group of reporters Thursday. “I don’t think I’m a finished product yet, but I’ve come a long way from where I started and I’m so grateful to God and I’m grateful for the people that helped me become what I’m becoming and still in the process of being, so I’m just grateful for this process.”
But Bryant did not stop there.
‘Breakout Star’ at Detroit Lions training camp says he’s as good as Aidan Hutchinson
Bryant added that he is glad that the Lions drafted Hutchinson and that they have Charles Harris on their team but he believes he is as good as both of them.
“I’m glad we drafted Aidan. We needed a player like that,” Bryant said. “I love Charles. We need a player like that. If we want to be the defense we want to be, we can’t be selfish. And in my mind, I’m just as good as those guys, so I don’t see it as a competition. I see it as me contributing to this team, helping my teammates, feeding off my teammates.
“So I love those guys to death. They’re absolutely great players. But I believe I’m a great player, too. I think with all of us together, our entire D-line, we can form a great unit and be a Detroit defense that people haven’t seen before.”
In terms of the big plays he made during the 2021 season, Bryant knows they mean absolutely nothing moving forward.
“I’m glad I made those plays, but that’s last year,” Bryant said. “It’s a totally new year, so I got to earn it all over again and that’s what I’m most focused on right now.”
“I just don’t think I’ve seen my best self yet, so I’m in quest of my best self every day,” he said. “I’m in quest of the best Austin every day, the best Austin that can contribute to this team and help this city win.”
“It’s a process,” he said. “Look, we’re just a week into camp, so nobody’s made the team yet, the roster’s not set, we haven’t even played a preseason game so I’m just taking it day by day and enjoying this process.”
Nation, do you believe the Detroit Lions’ defensive line, particularly Aidan Hutchinson, Charles Harris, and Austin Bryant will impose their will on opposing quarterbacks in 2022?
