fbpx
Home / frontnfl / 2022 NFL Draft Scouting Report: EDGE Aidan Hutchinson
AP Photo/Paul Sancya

2022 NFL Draft Scouting Report: EDGE Aidan Hutchinson


Big Board ranking: #5

Positional ranking: #1

 

Overview

Position: EDGE

College: Michigan

Class: Senior

Age: 21

 

Measurables

Height: 6’6 5/8”

Weight: 260 lbs.

Arm length: 32 1/8″

Hand size: 10 1/4″

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.74 sec.

Vertical jump: 36.0″

Broad jump: 117.0″

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: 6.73 sec.

Short shuttle: 4.15 sec.

 

Strengths

Prototype size and plus athleticism. Tremendous upper body strength. Very good overall power. Extremely effective bull-and-swipe rush. Walks back offensive tackle using length on his bull rush. Hands are strong and technically sound. Exceptional swipe move that can attack inside or outside. Possesses very effective double-hand swipe. Understands leverage and how to set up moves. Hands and feet are usually in sync. Impressive bend for a bigger edge. Knows how to close around the quarterback and is relentless finishing sacks. Textbook finisher that uses both arms to wrap the quarterback. Will attack the football to force fumbles on sacks. Can use a spin move to get free. Quick first step. Difficult to stop when he wins early. Very forceful as a finisher. Will engage and press to set the edge against the run. Good ability to evade a block by getting skinny to make a play. Even experience on both sides of the formation. Scheme versatile as a 3-4 outside linebacker at Michigan. Looks comfortable dropping in coverage for his size.

 

Weaknesses

Average twitchiness and change-of-direction skills. Will struggle to get off a block versus the run too often. Sometimes goes to his knees when engaged. Awareness can be improved versus chips and double teams. Too easily disrupted by help. Would like to see more consistent aggressiveness as a backside defender. Wish he was more dominant taking on running backs and tight ends.

 

NFL comparison

Patrick Kerney

 

Conclusion

Overall, Hutchinson is a strong and athletic edge defender that will mostly win with his hands but can also pull out a very effective bull rush to get to the quarterback. He has a case to be the first defender off the board with the ability to play in a variety of schemes.

2 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *