Aidan Hutchinson was challenged by his defensive coordinator to emerge this season as one of the best to play at his position.
Through three weeks, the former No. 2 overall has benefited tremendously from battling against backup offensive linemen. Injuries have decimated opposing offensive lines, and Hutchinson has taken full advantage.
His work in the offseason and the continued development of his three-dimensional approach to pass rushing has paid off, as Hutchinson is putting together statistical accomplishments comparable to the all-time greats.
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Hutchinson has enjoyed an excellent start to the 2024 season. Through three games, he is leading the league in sacks, with 6.5, and pressures with 25. His Pro Football Focus overall defensive grade of 93.4 is second in the league, regardless of position and snap count, behind San Francisco linebacker Fred Warner.
"He's got a big bag of moves. He can do a lot of things, very athletic player who also plays with a tremendous amount of strength," said defensive tackle DJ Reader. "You don't find that combination in a lot of players, so it's kind of special to see. And then just his poise, he's out there being a leader. He's got that C (captain) on his chest and comes to work every day and works really hard."
His pass rush grade of 94.2 is equally impressive, as he ranks second behind Myles Garrett at 94.6. The Michigan product leads the league in pass rush win rate amongst players with a minimum 20 snaps this year, as he wins at a 37.9 percent clip.
As a team, Detroit ranks third in the league in pass rush grade (81.3). Aaron Glenn's defense ranks highly in many of PFF's categories, as the unit ranks first in tackling grade (74.6), second in run defense (76.5) and third in overall defensive grade (76.0).
After notching 21 total sacks through his first two seasons, the talented defender has made the Jacksonville Jaguars scouting department regret not selecting him first overall in 2022.
He's currently on a record pace, as his sack total through three games puts him on pace for 36.8 sacks over the course of a full season. That would shatter the current NFL record of 22.5, currently held by Michael Strahan (2001) and T.J. Watt (2021).
