Probably like many teams, the Detroit Lions were understandably over the moon at Aidan Hutchinson’s NFL potential. After all, pass rushers like Hutchinson don’t grow on trees.
So when Hutchinson fell to Detroit at No. 2 overall, GM Brad Holmes and co. didn’t waste any time nabbing the former Michigan edge rusher. They had their card with his name on it penned the moment they saw he was available. When you know who you want, there’s no point in hesitating.
As it turns out, that lightning-quick response to select Hutchinson earned the ire of some powerful people: The NFL league office.
Uh-oh, what could they want?
More from NBC Sports’ Peter King:
“After the Jaguars picked Travon Walker number one, the Lions told the league the pick was in, and it was Hutchinson—within a minute of the Walker pick. ‘We turned the card in so fast the league got mad at us,’ said one Lion [sic] official.”
That doesn’t make sense. Why would the league be upset with the Lions for taking an available player and not breaking any rules? Wanting to draft a player too fast seems like such a strange thing to take issue with.
Per Benjamin Allbright — who covers the Broncos for KOA Colorado — it’s all about those sweet TV dollars. Because, of course, it is.
The league wants the top 10-12 picks to take as long as possible for ratings purposes. They want those quarter hour eyeballs. https://t.co/L9i91yQdtx
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) May 3, 2022
The NFL typically doles out around 20 minutes for every team picking near the top of the draft’s first round. They often fill that time with abundant commercial breaks for viewers at home.
It would appear that the squads themselves — especially with almost every player in the entire class on the board — don’t actually need every allotted minute. Who knew? (Everyone knew.)
Plus, it’s not as if the NFL didn’t wait the full approximate 20 minutes anyway after getting the Hutchinson pick across their lap. What are we mad about again, folks?
Kudos to the Lions for knowing who they like and jumping at the opportunity.
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