The 1-3 Lions are a bit chaotic with the league’s No. 1 offense and No. 32 defense.
The second overall pick in this year’s draft, edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, had a breakout game against the Commanders in Week Two — racking up 3.0 sacks and a pair of tackles for loss. He’s been a factor in Detroit’s last two losses, registering a QB hit against Minnesota and five tackles plus two QB hits against Seattle.
But with head coach Dan Campbell mentioning potential defensive personnel changes on Monday, Hutchinson’s role could be evolving as Detroit moves into Week Five.
“I mean I think every week, he’s getting a little bit better,” Campbell said in his press conference. “I think he’s one of the players that I think we need to look long and hard about, ‘Do we need to move him in some different spots? Do we need [to] see if we can give him an opportunity to have more success?’
“But look, I think he did a lot of good things in the run game yesterday, and look, I think he’s kind of where our defense is right now, where we’ve just got to improve, I mean get a little bit better, and I think we can all help each other. Just like when we get good coverage, we’ve got to get rush. When we get good rush, we’ve got to be able to cover, so — but I’m certainly not disappointed in him.”
One of the changes for Hutchinson could be playing more out of a two-point stance than a three-point stance. He had success with that as a college player.
“Some of that could be with thinking about moving him a little bit potentially,” Campbell said. “If you decided you were going to put him on the open edge or do you keep him in the close — if he’s going to be down over the tight end, it’s hard to be in a two, just to play the run. Not that you can’t, but you’re going to be much more on top of a tight end or a tackle, where it’s a little easier on the other edge.
“So look, we’re all open to whatever is most comfortable. Like if he feels like he can get his job done up, listen, no problem. So, I don’t feel like that’s an issue with him or that’s going to change anything, but we kind of take it all into account. If it’s something he feels like he’s more comfortable at, we’ll go with that.”
Either way, the Lions have to find more ways to be productive on defense — and that should include putting Hutchinson wherever and in whatever stance he needs to be at his best.