Detroit Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson said that his mentality entering this year is to win the Defensive Player of the Year. Hutchinson is entering his fifth NFL season and said that it was “just a matter of time” until things come together and he won his first DPOY award.
Hutchinson has been highly productive with the Lions, but not quite on Defensive Player of the Year level. He had a fabulous rookie season with 9.5 sacks. However, that was only enough for second in the Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, so he was not quite in the elite category yet.
He bumped it up to 11.5 sacks, which was strong and worthy of a Pro Bowl, but not quite in the national media recognition tier yet. Hutchinson was off to a roaring start in 2024 with 7.5 sacks in five games. It looked like he was coming into his own. However, he tore his ACL and put those aspirations on hold as he fought to get back on the field for Week 1.
Hutchinson did not miss a start in 2025, which should be commended on its own. Even more impressive, he returned from the ACL and put up 14.5 sacks, which was a career-high. Still, Hutchinson had a better per-game sack rate in 2024.
The thought is that he was rehabbing most of the summer last year and still produced. This year, he will be healthy, and he has been working on his game and improving his craft. There is a good chance that the best we have seen from Hutchinson will come in 2026.
Aidan Hutchinson Has What it Takes to Win Defensive Player of the Year with the Detroit Lions
GettyAiden Hutchinson had 14.5 sacks last year
An edge rusher has won the Defensive Player of the Year award in four of the past five seasons. This serves well for Hutchinson, as most agree that his position changes the game the most. T.J. Watt won the award in 2021 while posting 22.5 sacks. The following year was Nick Bosa, who had 18.5 sacks. Myles Garrett won the award in 2022 with just 14 sacks, but secured his second award honor with a 23-sack season in 2025.
So, the lowest any of those rushers hit was 14.5, and the average was 19.5 sacks. There is a chance that Hutchinson could be in a year where there are no standouts, and his career-high 14.5 wins, like Garrett did in 2023. However, in the best season that Hutchinson had to date, he ended up 8.5 sacks behind the league leader. He will need to tack on a couple more this year to earn the respect. The good news is that he has progressed during every healthy season.
Lions Defense is Better for Hutchinson to Thrive
Hutchinson should be in the best shape of his life and has a real chance to dominate the league. The players around him could help as well. The Lions signed D.J. Wonnum in free agency and drafted Derrick Moore in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Both have areas to improve in, but this is arguably the deepest group of rushers that Hutchinson has had across from him.
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