This coming Sunday, Aidan Hutchinson will have the opportunity to play against the team that passed on him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft when the Detroit Lions host the Jacksonville Jaguars at Ford Field. After getting off to a slow start to his career, Hutchinson has come on strong, and for his efforts, he was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month this past Thursday. One reason for Hutchinson’s improvement is that the Lions started using him in different ways. Lions defensive line coach Todd Wash recently spoke to the media and he talked about how Hutchinson will be used moving forward.
What did Detroit Lions DL coach Todd Wash say about Aidan Hutchinson?
Here is what Todd Wash said about how the Lions will use Hutchinson moving forward.
Via Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press:
“We’re keeping him on the left side for the most part, I think he likes that,” Wash said. “But just constant pressure is what we’re kind of looking for and that’s our expectations and that’s his expectations. He missed a couple again last week. But that’s the biggest thing. I think he’s really improved when we looked at the tape last week. He has really improved on setting the edge and staying square.
“Our edges are getting set, and he’s really took a lot of pride in that. Early on we were turned, we talk about ‘ass to the sideline.’ But he’s staying square and doing a really nice job in the run game. We want to see consistent pressure, and that’s not just for him, that’s for the rest of our guys. We got some guys who can rush the passer, we just got to finish.”
Hutchinson still has a long way to go, but there is no question about it that he is trending in the right direction for the Lions.
On Sunday, he will try to make the Jaguars regret not taking him with the No. 1 overall pick.