The No. 2 pick in the 2022 NFL draft belongs to the Detroit Lions, and there seems very little inclination by the Lions to try and trade up for the No. 1 pick. That means that the Jacksonville Jaguars control the player availability at No. 2 by what they do with the No. 1 pick.
In his NFL scouting combine wrap-up for FMIA, NBC Sports’ Peter King opined that he believes Michigan EDGE Aidan Hutchinson will be the Jaguars’ choice for the top spot. In a subheading titled, “Aidan Hutchinson exits Indy as the odds-on favorite to be the top pick”, King notes,
I don’t believe Jags GM Trent Baalke and coach Doug Pederson will be unduly swayed by combine tests. But the tape says a lot about Hutchinson’s raw power and instincts and drive. His college production (30.5 tackles-for-loss plus sacks last season) has made some scouts compare him to former NFL edge player Jared Allen, who put up 136 sacks in 12 NFL season. Their on-field zeal is certainly comparable.
Invoking Jared Allen, a 4-time All-Pro who posted a peak of 89.5 sacks in six seasons in his prime, is a very fitting note for Hutchinson. Allen was a 6-foot-6, 270-pound power-to-speed player with outstanding agility and a relentless motor. All those qualities are often mentioned with Hutchinson as well. But Allen also had short arms for his height and for the position and made it work, something Hutchinson will have to do at the NFL level, too.
Hutchinson’s lack of arm length became a big topic of combine week. At 6-foot-7, his arm length of 32 1/8″ is quite small. Allen measured in at just 32 inches at 6-foot-6 back at the combine in 2004. Hutchinson topped Allen’s workout numbers in every metric, too.
What that means for the Lions
While some other names, notably Oregon EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux, get projected to Detroit at No. 2, Hutchinson is the consensus choice of pre-combine mock drafts for the Lions. If he’s gone, it opens the door for GM Brad Holmes to explore different positions, including quarterback (Malik Willis) or safety/LB (Kyle Hamilton). Georgia DL Travon Walker threw his name into the hat with an outstanding athletic display, and Thibodeaux will still get mentions as well despite choosing not to work out.
