Over his first two seasons since being the second overall pick in the 2022 draft, Aidan Hutchinson has been everything the Detroit Lions could have hoped for. He improved across the board from his first year to his second. There's plenty to suggest he has another level in him heading into Year 3, and he has that expectation for himself.
Hutchinson was Pro Football Focus' eighth-ranked edge defender last season, as he finished second in quarterback pressures during the regular season (101). Heading into this season, PFF ranked Hutchinson No. 6 in their edge rusher ranking.
"Hutchinson ascended to an elite level in his second season, earning a 91.4 pass-rush grade. His 101 quarterback pressures in the regular season ranked second only toMicah Parsons. His pass-rush win rate also leaped from 12.2% in 2022 to 21.3% in 2023."
-Trevor Sikkema, Pro Football Focus
One thing seemed to hold Aidan Hutchinson down in CBS edge rusher ranking
Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports is out with a ranking of the top-20 edge rushers in the league entering the 2024 season. Hutchinson comes in at No. 11.
"Considered a safe bet when Detroit drafted him No. 2 overall in 2022, Hutchinson is well on his way to justifying the investment. After a solid debut, he took a big leap in 2023, more than doubling his quarterback-hit total (15 to 33) as a relentless aggressor during the Lions' run to the NFC title game."
The top-10 are T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett, Nick Bosa, Micah Parsons, Maxx Crosby, Danielle Hunter, Trey Hendrickson, Haason Reddick, Montez Sweat and Khalil Mack. All but Parsons are at least entering their sixth season, and thus naturally have longer resumes. Parsons has at least 13 sacks in all three of his seasons thus far.
In relation to bis being No. 11 in this year's edge rusher ranking, Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports acknowledged the obvious with Hutchinson.
"One pass rusher who did not crack Benjamin's top 10 on this list is Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, but I suspect that he'll be a prime candidate to move into that elite grouping after another strong season with Detroit in 2024."
Seemingly by being just two years into his career, Hutchinson fell down this edge rusher ranking just enough that it feels like he was dissed. But this will probably be the lowest spot he occupies on anyone's yearly preseason edge rusher rankings for quite a while.