When the Detroit Lions drafted three pass rushers in the 2022 NFL draft, it was a sign the team was looking to add a lot more oomph to the defense. Mission accomplished.
Aidan Hutchinson, Josh Paschal and James Houston have all made impacts as rookies. That was never more evident than in the Lions’ Week 17 win over the Chicago Bears. Houston, the team’s sixth-round pick, sacked Justin Fields three times. Paschal, a second-round pick, added two sacks of his own. Hutchinson, the No. 2 overall pick, chipped in a half-sack and an interception.
The eruption against the Bears pushed the Lions to the precipice of NFL history. Detroit’s rookie class has combined to produce 18.5 sacks, which is just a half-sack away from setting the record for the most sacks from rookies in a season.
Houston leads all rookies with eight sacks and has posted that gaudy total in just six games. He seized the lead from Hutchinson, who has 7.5. Paschal contributed two sacks in nine games, and linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez has one sack of his own.
That leaves Detroit just a half-sack behind the 1999 Tennessee Titans for the most sacks by a rookie class since the NFL started keeping sacks as an official stat in 1983. Those Titans got 14.5 from rookie of the year Jevon Kearse and 4.5 from second-round DT John Thornton. That Titans team wound up winning the AFC Championship.
Detroit plays Green Bay in Week 18. In the first meeting, the Lions sacked quarterback Aaron Rodgers just once, a clean-up sack by second-year LB Derrick Barnes.
