Aidan Hutchinson sits on a couch in the Lions’ practice facility, the embodiment of how to nail a draft pick, and also proof of why it is so hard to do. Six months ago, Hutchinson was considered the safest pick in the draft, a high-floor/low-ceiling guy: What you see is what you get. But even the Lions did not really know what they were getting until they got him.
A year ago, Hutchinson finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting after a 14-sack season for Michigan. The scouting report then: terrific pass-rusher, plays his butt off, but not a prospect on the level of Myles Garrett or Nick and Joey Bosa.
The Lions drafted Hutchinson with the second pick. Most people figured he would be a really good player. But after all the talk about how he was probably limited, Hutchinson’s rookie year has been defined by how much he can do. Lions defensive line coach Todd Wash talks about Hutchinson in ways that nobody did just six months ago:
