With the first overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars were pretty much weighing upside (Travon Walker) or proven college production (Aidan Hutchinson). They of course went with Walker, leaving the Detroit Lions to make the no-brainer pick of Hutchinson at No. 2 overall.
Safe to say it worked out for the Lions, as Hutchinson would have won Defensive Rookie of the Year if not for Jets cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner. The Jaguars, meanwhile, will be betting on Walker taking a notable step this season.
Heading into last season's game against the Jaguars, Hutchinson said he was looking forward to showing them they made a mistake.
"It was weird, I thought I was going there for about three months and then about a week before the draft, something changed,” Hutchinson said. “I guess my arms were just not quite long enough, but that hit a week before the draft, so we’ll see if that extra couple inches was the difference.The Jags are obviously the one team that passed on me, so that will definitely be in the back of my head playing that game.”""
Aidan Hutchinson is very glad the Jaguars passed on him in the 2022 draft
The Lions will face the Jaguars in a preseason game on Saturday, so the topic of them passing on him was again brought to Hutchinson this week. Not that he hasn't been happy the Lions took him all along, as a Michigan native, but via SI.com he is glad it turned out the way it did.
"I’m happy here. Very thankful, very thankful," Hutchinson said on Wednesday. "I mean, it all worked out. It was divine timing. The way things went was the way things were supposed to go.”"
It did seem preordained that Hutchinson would become a Detroit Lion. Being taken No. 1 overall was possible to derail that, but the Jaguars made their decision to clear the way for the Lions to turn in their card for the No. 2 pick so fast the league took umbrage.