For months leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft, Michigan’s Heisman Trophy finalist Aidan Hutchinson was the heavy favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick. Then, quite suddenly, he wasn’t.
The Jacksonville Jaguars, picking first, selected Georgia’s Travon Walker. The Detroit Lions weren’t about to pass on the local product Hutchinson at No. 2 overall.
The Jaguars are at the Lions’ facility this week for joint practices, and the two teams will square off in the preseason Saturday.
Some players keep lists of the teams that passed on them in the draft and use it for motivation. Hutchinson doesn’t appear to be one of them. Might he harbor any ill will to the one NFL club that passed on him in the draft?
“Nope,” Hutchinson said Wednesday, via mlive.com. “I’m happy here. Very thankful. Very thankful. I mean, it all worked out. It was divine timing. The way things went (was) the way things were supposed to go.”
Walker might have more guaranteed more money with his rookie contract ($37.4 million to Hutchinson’s $35.7 million), but Hutchinson said this week that he was actually hoping to slide to No. 2 and the home-state Lions.
“The whole draft process, I wanted them to pick me,” Hutchinson said.