Aidan Hutchinson has been up and down so far in his rookie season, but things may be starting to come together.
Lions fans wanted Aidan Hutchinson to be a star right away, and he didn’t deliver in Week 1. Then he had three-sack outing in Week 2, followed by a dry spell. In Week 7 against Dallas he was shifted to a more comfortable role, and he had 1.5 sacks in that game.
Hutchinson leads NFL rookies in sacks (4.5), quarterback hits (nine) and pressures (24) so far this season. But to say it’s been up-and-down for him, as should be expected from a rookie, is an understatement.
On Thursday, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn hinted a slight change in Hutchinson’s role.
That’s just what he’s good at doing, but his pass rush on the edge, we’re starting to put him on the interior quite a bit. We didn’t get to as much as we wanted to in this past game, but you’ll start to see that. But, that ‘want to,’ as far as him being inside, because I know he likes being on the edge.
Aidan Hutchinson aiming to reach higher level as game slows down for him
Hutchinson also spoke to reporters on Thursday. Via the Lions’ website, he pointed to his progress.
I think things have really started to slow down,” Hutchinson said Thursday. “Even in how I game plan and how I see things. Definitely, things have gotten simpler in my head. Talk about my progression, definitely I’m in an upward trend.”
Per 97.1 The Ticket, one of Hutchinson’s old coaches at Michigan sent him the data showing him leading rookies in the aforementioned categories. But he’s aiming higher.
I mean, yeah, that’s cool, but I’m not really aiming to beat the other rookies,” Hutchinson said Thursday. “That’s not really my mentality. It’s never been my mentality. I think above that.
As the game slows down for him, Hutchinson has improved and now a shift in his role is being eyed so he’s a little harder to account for. The next step is consistenct production, and Hutchinson will play a critical role in containing Bears quarterback Justin Fields on Sunday.