Kelvin Sheppard will have a great chance for success in his first year as the Lions’ defensive coordinator if defensive end Aidan Hutchinson regains the form he had before fracturing his leg in Week Six last season, but Sheppard isn’t stopping there when it comes to what he’s seen from Hutchinson early in training camp.
Hutchinson rehabbed with an eye on a potential return for the Super Bowl and he kept working after those hopes were dashed by the Commanders in the divisional round of the playoffs. He’s been practicing without restrictions at camp and Sheppard said that the work has been of an even higher quality than he expected to see.
“Listen I’m not saying anything about numbers, statistics or any of that. But, I see a better player than we had last year,” Sheppard said, via Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com. “And you might be like, ‘Woah.’ Like, that’s the same thing I said when I saw him out there. I’m like, ‘Woah.’”
Hutchinson broke his ankle while at Michigan in 2020 and then returned with 14 sacks to propel the Wolverines to the playoffs the next year. He also propelled himself to the Lions with the second overall pick in the 2022 draft and Sheppard’s comments suggest a similar rebound may be taking shape this time around.
