It should be no surprise that Detroit Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson made an appearance on a top-ten edge rusher list conducted by ESPN. However, one thing that might have been a surprise is the disparity of his ranking.
Hutchinson finished in fifth place, which might seem low, but could be about right. However, his range of votes was anywhere from second best to eighth.
As Jeremy Fowler noted in the article, Hutchinson is the first player since 1982 to produce 40 sacks or more and five interceptions or more during his first four seasons. The rare ability to impact the game in a variety of ways makes Hutchinson more valuable than most.
Detroit Lions Edge Rusher Ranked As Low As Eighth in Position Rankings
So, it is a bit surprising to see him get such a low score on one ranking. These rankings are conducted by scouts, coaches, and executives, so this is the opinion within the NFL.
Myles Garrett ranked first across the board, which is no surprise. However, there were five rushers that ranked as high as number two, depending on which board you saw. Micah Parsons, Will Anderson, Maxx Crosby, Hutchinson, and Danielle Hunter all received a vote as high as second best in the NFL. So, depending on the order, this tier could have ranged anywhere from second to sixth.
If Hutchinson were ranked as low as sixth on the board that had Hunter second, it might not be too hard to dispute. However, if Hutchinson was as low as eighth, there were two other edge rushers ahead of him.
T.J. Watt and Nick Bosa earned rankings as high as three. Meanwhile, Nik Bonitto and Brian Burns got as high as sixth in the edge rankings. While the top six are more widely debatable, it would be harder to put these four ahead of Hutchinson.
Aidan Hutchinson Compares Favorably to His Peers
GettyDetroit Lions All-Pro Aidan Hutchinson.
When comparing Hutchinson to Watt, Bosa, Burns, and Bonitto since Hutchinson has entered the NFL, it would be hard to put the other rushers ahead of him. To start, Hutchinson only played in five games in 2024.
However, since 2022, he has been second amongst those edge rushers in snaps. It shows that he is a workhorse when he is on the field.
He was second in sacks behind Brian Burns, but he played fewer snaps and 10 fewer games than Burns. He is tied with Watt despite two fewer games and has more sacks than both Bosa and Bonitto since entering the NFL.
However, what is most impressive is that Hutchinson has 168 pressures since 2022. Bosa is second most with 141. Burns has 126, Watt has 121, and Bonitto has 105.
Watt and Bosa had great peaks, but have not hit that in recent years. Bonitto was great last year, but has not strung it together enough. Burns is less efficient on a per-snap basis.
It is not a big issue because Hutchinson rounded out to being in the top five. However, it is hard to find an edge rusher with a resume that knocks him outside the top six, and he fell to eighth on some lists.
1 NFL Voter Disrespects Aidan Hutchinson With Shocking Ranking