The Detroit Lions' defense was one of the NFL's worst in 2021, so it was no surprise that the team addressed that side of the ball with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 draft by taking University of Michigan pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson. The Lions haven't had a Defensive Rookie of the Year since 2010 (Ndamukong Suh, also the No. 2 overall pick), but Hutchinson is absolutely lapping the field in betting action at Caesars Sportsbook to win this year. He's a +450 favorite.
Hutchinson is first in tickets sold at 19.7% and handle at 21.8% on this prop at Caesars. He has more than twice as many tickets and three times as much money as the Giants' Kayvon Thibodeaux (+600) and Jaguars' Travon Walker (+850) combined. Thibodeaux could miss Week 1 with a knee injury.
Hutchinson had one of the great defensive seasons in Michigan history in 2021. He finished as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, the third defensive player to finish second in the history of the award (the lone defensive winner was Michigan's Charles Woodson). Hutchinson had a school-record 14 sacks as well as 62 tackles, including 16.5 for losses. He won the Lombardi Award, given to the top lineman in the nation, and the Hendricks Award, given to the top defensive end in the country.
For months leading into the 2022 draft, Hutchinson was a heavy favorite to go first overall to Jacksonville, but the winds started changing in the days leading up to it and indeed the Jaguars took Georgia's Walker, even though his collegiate numbers were nowhere close to Hutchinson's.
Already, Hutchinson is probably the most well-known defensive rookie in the league simply for his viral singing moment of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" in the first episode of this summer's "Hard Knocks" on HBO featuring the Lions. In Detroit's final preseason game, Hutchinson had a sack of Pittsburgh quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, but he played very few snaps in the exhibition games overall. By all accounts, Hutchinson has been a hit in the locker room because of his work ethic. He's a Michigan native who wanted to play for the Lions.
To win NFL DROY, a player generally has to put up solid sack numbers – last year's winner, Micah Parsons of the Cowboys, had 13. Hutchinson is set at over/under 7.5. Walker is set at 6.5 sacks and Thibodeaux, the No. 5 overall pick by New York, is off the board because of his injury.
Detroit opens Sept. 11 at home vs. Philadelphia.
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