The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NFL DRAFT PREVIEW WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT AIDAN HUTCHINSON • "The Jaguars keep left tackle Cam Robinson in the fold with a second franchise tag [which they did March 8] … paving the way for Hutchinson to be the No. 1 overall pick. "Hutchinson recorded 74 quarterback pressures from just 429 pass-rush snaps in 2021 — a staggering 17.25 pressure percentage — which help him earn an elite 93.3 pass-rush grade. Hutchinson was just as good against the run with a 90.8 run defense grade." — Brad Spielberger, Pro Football Focus • "Pick your poison. [Hutchinson will] be able to fill the role. I wouldn't nec- essarily advocate for a lot of reps dropping in underneath zones, although I have seen him do it a few times in 2021. That is, how- ever, a misallocation of his tal- ents. He can rush inside, outside, or stack a block and control the point of attack. There's not a defense in the NFL that would be unable to ac- commodate and weap- onize Hutchinson." — Kyle Crabbs, The Draft Network NFL COMBINE MEASUREMENTS Height 6-7 Weight 260 pounds Arms 32 1 ⁄8 inches Hands 10¼ inches 40-yd. dash 4.74 seconds Bench — Vertical 36 inches Broad 117 inches 3-cone 6.73 seconds 20-yd. shuttle 4.15 seconds 60-yd. shuttle — PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Edge Defender Aidan Hutchinson Projection: Top-three pick The heartbeat of Michigan's defense, Aidan Hutchinson put together the sea- son he always imagined he would in 2021, leading his team to a Big Ten champi- onship and setting a program record with 14 sacks. That type of résumé has him in contention to be the first player off the board on the night of April 28. His performance at the 2022 NFL Combine in Indianapolis may have ham- mered home this point. Hutchinson was one of the standout performers of the week and earned a 95 athleticism grade from the NFL's Next Gen Stats, which put him in the "elite" category. "I've just gotten more mature," he said at the combine. "I'm a completely dif- ferent player than what I was my freshman year. You can't compare 2018 Aidan to now. I'm completely different and confident in my game. I'm ready to go." His time at Michigan included some tough losses and an ankle injury that ended his 2020 season. Ultimately, he feels the rough times were all worth it. "It's been a journey at Michigan with a lot of adversity," Hutchinson said. "Finally in my senior year, we came out on top and won a championship. So, I think it's a great story for me, and I'm glad and I'm happy about all the adversity I went through because I think it's made me the man I am today." Hutchinson's path to the NFL was also shaped by defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, who spent one season in Ann Arbor before rejoining the Baltimore Ravens. Macdonald unleashed him in 2021, and he hopes his next coordina- tor follows suit. "Mike influenced me by giving me a lot of freedom in the defense and allowing me to just let loose," Hutchinson said. "And that's when I feel like I'm best, when the coordinator trusts me and I trust him and we're both on the same page." The Jacksonville Jaguars hold the keys to the entire draft with the top overall section. Mocks leading up to the NFL Combine suggested they may go with an offensive tackle. However, the buzz in recent weeks has linked them to the Wolverine pass rusher. "It would mean a lot [to go No. 1]," Hutchinson said. "A lot of hard work has gone into this. It's been a very long journey, but I'm ready to start a new chapter." Many Michigan fans are actually rooting for Hutchinson to fall to No. 2, where the hometown Detroit Lions pick. Hutchinson went to high school just down the road at Dearborn Divine Child and would be one of the stories of the draft if he wound up close to home. "It would be cool," he said. "I would be living close to home. It would make the transition a bit easier to the NFL, just being so close to home and being close to my parents." APRIL 2022 THE WOLVERINE 33