Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson lands spot on NFL's Top 100 players list

The NFL began the reveal of their top 100 players in the league this week, as determined by players. The Detroit Lions were, probably not surprisingly, completely snubbed from the list last year.

Tight end T.J. Hockenson was the last Lion to make the top-100, No. 93 in 2021. The last Lions defensive player, if you want to definite that way, to make it was cornerback Darius Slay in 2020. Ad he was not a Lion anymore after being traded to the Eagles-he just hadn't played a snap for the Eagles yet. Former Lions running back Jamaal Williams, now with the Saints of course, landed at No. 95 on this year's list when 100-91 was revealed on Monday.

Players 90-81 in this year's top 100 were revealed on Tuesday. Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson came in at No. 88. A rookie season that would have won Defensive Rookie of the Year in almost any other year (thanks but no thanks Sauce Gardner) gives the Lions young star a rightful place on the list.

In the NFL Films video clip outlining Hutchinson, which you can only view if you have an NFL+ subscription, Gardner noted how Hutchinson (three) had more interceptions than he did (two) last year.

Which other Detroit Lions will join Aidan Hutchinson on the NFL Top 100 players list?

Hutchinson will certainly not be the only Lion to make the top-100 players list for this year. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and right tackle Penei Sewell are the two clearest-cut, and frankly obvious, candidates. It's just a matter of where they come in on the remainder of the list. Others (quarterback Jared Goff? running back David Montgomery? left tackle Taylor Decker?) are far more doubtful, and unlikely to be in what's now to be revealed as the top-80 players as voted by their peers.

Hutchinson expects the game to slow down for him in his second season. That's a scary thought for offensive tackles who will line up opposite him, and a foreshadowing of a higher place on the top-100 players list come 2024.