Rookie defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was drafted by the Detroit Lions at No.2 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, but it seems like he is still bothered by not being selected with the first pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars. That has seemingly given Hutchinson some added motivation for the Lions’ upcoming game against the Jaguars in Week 13.
Hutchinson discussed the matchup along with the draft day snub with Kyle Meinke of Mlive.com, where he detailed that despite being told by his agent that he would be selected by Jacksonville, they ultimately decided to go with Travon Walker instead.
“Aidan Hutchinson told me he thought he was going to Jacksonville until his agent called him and said it wasn’t happening about a week before the draft,” tweeted Meinke.
Hutchinson proceeded to troll the Jaguars, saying that he may not have been selected due to his short arm length at the pre-draft evaluation.
“Guess my arms were not quite long enough,” said Hutchinson jokingly. “We’ll see if that inch or couple of inches was the difference.”
Aidan Hutchinson told me he thought he was going to Jacksonville until his agent called him and said it wasn’t happening about a week before the draft. “Guess my arms were not quite long enough,” he said, laughing.
“We’ll see if that inch or couple of inches was the difference.”
— kyle meinke (@kmeinke) December 1, 2022
Thus Hutchinson has been more productive with Detroit than Walker has been with Jacksonville.
Walker has recorded 2.5 sacks along with an interception in 11 starts, while Hutchinson has 5.5 sacks on the year with two interceptions.
It is far too early to say who will end up being the better player in the NFL career, but Hutchinson clearly believes that he is the better player.
Hutchinson will look to use this as motivation to make a big impact in Sunday’s matchup against Jacksonville and help Detroit come away with the win.
