Pride of Detroit
After suffering a gruesome leg injury in 2024, can Aidan Hutchinson bounce back to his old ways?
We are officially in the dead period of the NFL season, which means you all have a month to get ready before training camp starts, and the smell of football is in the air. What that also means is the return of the Pride of Detroit roster preview! We will take a look at some individual players for the Detroit Lions and lay out what we think could happen with them for the 2025 season.
I wanted to start the series with a bang and with the biggest storyline of 2024 in defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. How will he bounce back after suffering that gruesome injury against the Dallas Cowboys? Time for us to do our best and see what that looks like.
After the success of the 2023 season, the Lions were getting a lot of love and attention heading into 2024. Multiple players were getting deemed as “stars”, “superstars,” and “underrated.” The player who probably had the biggest expectations heading into 2024 was Hutchinson. He improved upon his successful rookie season in 2022, recording an increase in forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, pass deflections, and sacks, and making his first Pro Bowl.
I even predicted in last year’s roster preview that he would be an All-Pro in 2024 based on what I saw the previous two seasons. Another big thing that was going to assist him was some help along the defensive line. The Lions signed defensive tackle DJ Reader and defensive end Marcus Davenport in free agency, and the team drafted defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo in the 2024 NFL Draft. Another player already on the roster in Levi Onwuzurike was seen as a possible help if he could stay healthy, as he was dealing with injuries since arriving in Detroit. It finally appeared like Hutchinson wasn’t going to do this all by himself, and he could take that next leap in the NFL.
Note: Stats are regular season only unless otherwise stated
5 games (5 starts)
Stats: 19 total tackles, 17 quarterback hits, 7.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, and one forced fumble
PFF defensive grade: 94.9 (1st out of 132 qualifying DEs — minimum 201 snaps)
PFF pass rush grade: 95.0 (1st out of 132)
PFF run defense grade: 70.6 (26th out of 132)
PFF tackling grade: 70.4 (15th out of 132)
While it’s not entirely fair to grade Hutchinson’s play in five games compared to others who played in all 17 games, you can’t ignore what he did last season. First, Hutchinson improved in every aspect of his PFF grades, as he went from top 10 in defensive and pass rush grades to the number one spot. His weaker points were in the run game and tackling; both of those saw great improvement, especially tackling. He had a 34.2 grade in 2023, ranking 107th. Last season,...
