The Michigan Wolverines have produced a plethora of talent for the NFL, of course, most notably, the GOAT Tom Brady was drafted back in 2000 in the sixth round of the NFL Draft. Especially after winning their National Championship in 2024, the Wolverines have certainly sent even more players to the NFL, but a few years before that, they sent star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson to the pros.
Hutchinson was drafted second overall in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft to the Detroit Lions, which meant Hutchinson was staying close to home. In his first season, the star defensive end started all 17 games for the Lions and totaled 52 tackles, 9.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries, and three interceptions.
The kid out of Michigan was a star in the making in the NFL and quickly became one of the more feared defensive ends to go against. Hutchinson took a huge step forward in his second season with 51 total tackles, 11.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, seven passes defended, and one interception.
After two fantastic seasons, Hutchinson hit an unfortunate roadblock in his third season just five games in. The young star player started the first five games of the season, but in the fifth game against the Dallas Cowboys, Hutchinson suffered a gruesome leg injury that resulted in him being carted off the field and rushed to a hospital.
Before going down with the injury, Hutchinson was on a tear defensively already, with 7.5 sacks and 45 quarterback pressures. This means that Hutchinson was on pace for 28 sacks and 170 quarterback pressures, which would have broken two NFL record.
Obviously, Hutchinson could have slowed down at one point in the season, possibly dealing small injuries along the way or some offensive lines having the ability to hit him down or triple-team him. However, if Hutchinson had stayed on that pace of 28 sacks at the end of the season would have broken the NFL record for sacks by 5.5 sacks. The pace of 170 pressures would have been more 64 pressures than any other player since the stat started being recorded in 2017.
While the injury to Hutchinson was devastating, he will be back and will come better than ever next season and will most likely be ready to go after that NFL sack record.