PFF data illuminates how dominant Aidan Hutchinson has been so far this season

Aidan Hutchinson has answered the call to take his game to another level this season.

Just before the season started, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn challenged Aidan Hutchinson to take his game to a new level in his third year. Hutchinson has not shied way from those kind of expectations, even setting them for himself at times.

Through three weeks, Hutchinson leads the league with 6.5 sacks. He should have won NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 2, after he had 4.5 sacks against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He is Pro Football Focus' top-graded edge defender thus far (93.4), with Myles Garrett barely edging him out for the best pass rushing grade at the position (94.6 to 94.2).

That 93.4 overall PFF grade is the second-best grade among all defensive players through three weeks, regardless of position and leaving aside any snap count threshold. Among players with at least 20 pass rush snaps through three weeks, Hutchinson's pass rush win rate (37.9 percent) is No. 1.

Hutchinson's 25 quarterback pressures through three weeks (via PFF) also lead the league, seven more than a three-man second place tie (Micah Parsons, Zach Allen and Carl Granderson).

PFF data further shows Aidan Hutchinson's dominance so far this season

PFF is coming out with some different statistical measures using their data. One they've unveiled this week is "Defensive Impact Plays Over Expected", described as "measuring the true disruption of NFL defenders". Here's the definition of an "impact play."

A defensive impact play includes pressures, defensive stops, batted passes, forced incompletions, or interceptions.

So it isn't surprising that Hutchinson is the leader in "DIPOE" entering Week 4, with 9.67 (24 "impact plays" over 170 snaps). As in, the leader in "DIPOE" regardless of position.

In Week 3 alone, in what PFF determined as "obvious passing situations" (OPS), Hutchinson won a league-best 44 percent of his reps. Through Week 2, which the eye test shows after including Week 3, PFF was very high on Hutchinson's use of a spin move in his pass rush arsenal.

The tape and the eye test easily tells the world how dominant Hutchinson has been so far this season. But deeper data tells us it too, as the Lions' star edge rusher asserts himself among the best at his position now and for years to come. In a broader sense Hutchinson is taking his place among the best defensive players in the league, at any position, until further notice.