Some years during the NFL Draft, there’s a consensus on which player should be the No. 1 overall pick. Sometimes, that consensus even carries over into the top three or top five picks. Well, in 2022, there was no consensus, but everyone knew Aidan Hutchinson was worthy of a top-five pick.
Luckily, the Detroit Lions saw the local Michigan product’s talent too, and quickly made Hutchinson the second overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Even though another edge rusher was selected first overall, Hutchinson leads his draft class with 26.5 sacks. He’s also coming off a Pro Bowl season, and is playing the best football of his young NFL career.
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Aidan Hutchinson eyes new NFL sack record in third season with Detroit Lions
It’s safe to say, the Detroit Lions made the right decision to make Aidan Hutchinson one of their franchise cornerstones. He’s still just 24 years old, yet he’s already established a reputation for being one of the best pass rushers in the NFL.
Through just two games, Hutchinson has racked up seven tackles (5 TFL), 5.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. The sacks and tackles for loss lead the NFL. But Hutchinson’s strong start is nothing new, it’s actually continued momentum from the end of last season.
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In Week 17 of last season, Hutchinson recorded three sacks. In Week 18, he added two more. Now, by recording 5.5 sacks across his first two games and five across his last two games last season, Hutchinson has a chance to break the NFL’s all-time sack record across a five-game span.
According to Pro Football Talk, if Hutchinson gets 2.5 more sacks in Sunday’s matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, he’ll have 13 sacks across five games, which would break Michael Strahan’s record of 12.5 sacks across five games from Weeks 3-7 in 2021. That was the same year Strahan set the NFL’s all-time career sacks record. Multiple others have had 12 sacks in a five-game span, but never 13.