Despite not playing since suffering a broken fibula and tibia in Week 6, Aidan Hutchinson still led the Detroit Lions in every notable pass rushing statistic during the regular season. Za'Darius Smith has been a fine trade acquisition, but more pass rush help will have to come during the offseason.
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Ideally, and more likely, the Lions will turn toward the draft to find a running mate for Hutchinson. To that end, a lot of mock drafts you see right now have them taking an edge rusher in the first round.
In his latest 2025 mock draft, Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus has the Lions taking Arkansas edge rusher Landon Jackson at pick No. 32.
"As we head into the playoffs, Aidan Hutchinson still leads the Lions in sacks (7.5). It's safe to say they need some pass-rush help this offseason. Jackon is a unique edge rusher because of his 6-foot-7 frame and 275-pound weight. Yet, he has good burst and some intriguing bend for a player with those measurables. I expect the Lions to like his profile."
Landon Jackson is not shying away from being compared to Aidan Hutchinson
As Sikemma noted, Jackson is uniquely tall (6-foot-7) for an edge rusher. His sack production, 6.5 in each of his last two seasons for the Razorbacks, doesn't leap off the page but his tools hint at some untapped upside as a pass rusher. He is all-around good, and his prowess a run defender is notable (24 tackles for loss over the last two seasons; sixth-best run defense grade from Pro Football Focus among edge defenders this past season) is notable.
Jackson will be at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama late this month. In line with that, he spoke exclusively with Justin Melo of The Draft Network about the opportunity he has down in Mobile and other topics.
Melo asked Jackson what NFL defender he would compare himself to if he had to. He narrowed to two names, but the first on any list is always more meaningful.
"I feel like there’s a lot of guys I’m pretty similar to. Right now, I’m getting a lot of comparisons to Aidan Hutchinson. We’re both really long, faster guys. We use our weight to our advantage. I see some similarities in our games."
Physically, Jackson and Hutchinson (6-foot-7, 268 pounds) are strikingly similar. Before his final season at Michigan (14 sacks), Hutchinson was also not uber-productive in terms of sacks while being strong in other areas.
When asked who he'd compare himself to, Jackson could have easily shied away from being compared to Hutchinson. Instead he chose to acknowledge and invite the comparison. NFL teams will surely notice that as they get a full pre-draft evaluation of him.
