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.
Aidan Hutchinson
Expectations heading into 2024
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.
Actual role in 2024
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, he jumped over 90 spots.
Again, this is only five games, but Hutchison was a monster for the Lions last season, and I believe if he didn’t get injured, he easily would have won NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He was averaging 1.5 sacks per game, on pace for 25.5 sacks in a season. That would be an NFL record, breaking the tie between Pittsburgh Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt and New York Giants legend Michael Strahan’s record of 22.5.
For the longest time last season, Hutchinson led the team in pressures with 45, according to PFF. It wasn’t until near the end of the season that only Onwuzurike (47) jumped him.
Hutchinson was and is the most important player on the defensive side of the ball for this team. When he went down, former defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn made some adjustments, and while they were helpful and did well, the defensive line wasn’t the same without Hutchinson. That impact would later trickle down to the linebackers and secondary. Hutchinson not being on the field changes not just what the Lions do, but what their opponents do. They can run more towards his side of the field, and quarterbacks didn’t have to worry about getting sacked as much.
Outlook for 2025
The biggest question for Hutchinson heading into 2025 is: can he be the same player he was last season? Returning from a fractured tibia and fibula isn’t an easy thing to do. Hutchinson has dealt with this adversity before, breaking his ankle in college at Michigan in 2020, and he returned in 2021 to have his best season yet. This, though, is a bit different and can’t be overlooked.
Obviously, it would be fantastic if he could return to his 2024 form, and there is nothing saying that it isn’t possible; it would just be difficult to do. While Hutchinson is one of the best defensive ends in the NFL, coming off an injury like that might be more of a mental thing to overcome than physical. Sure, it was a freak accident, but it typically takes time for players to fully trust their injured leg.
The good news is that Hutchinson has already been fully cleared from his injury. He was a full participant for the Lions’ OTAs, and Lions general manager Brad Holmes said he already looks like himself.
“Aidan looks great, man,” Holmes told Long. “He’s been out there in OTAs. I didn’t really expect anything else. You never truly, truly know, because you don’t have a crystal ball, but just knowing how that guy’s wired and how he attacks things and how in tune he is with his body, it did not surprise me. He’s out there, he looks explosive, he’s changing direction. I mean, he looks really good, man.”
Despite having help in 2024, I believe Hutchinson will have an even better supporting cast this year. Hutchinson has more edge rushers in rookie Ahmed Hassanein and veteran Al-Quadin Muhammad to help rotate in on the other side. Davenport is also back from injury, and while Alim McNeill will be missed for a bit of the 2025 season, the team added veteran Roy Lopez and rookie Tyleik Williams to help bolster the interior.
According to FanDuel, Hutchinson is tied with Myles Garrett for the second-best odds (+700) to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and the favorite (+320) to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year. So expectations of him bouncing back to his old ways aren’t just high in Detroit, but around the country. If he can be exactly how he was in 2024, there is no doubt in my mind he wins both of those awards and possibly breaks the single-season sack record.