Todd McShay explains why he moved Aidan Hutchinson to the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft

In his latest mock draft, ESPN’s Todd McShay explained why he made the decision to put Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson as the first draft pick on his board. Originally, McShay had Ikem Ekwonu going as his first pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars, a prediction that he has changed based on Jacksonville’s offseason moves.

McShay on moving Hutchinson up his draft board

“I had Ickey Ekwonu, the offensive tackle from North Carolina State — then the Jaguars tagged Cam Robinson for another year,” started McShay. “So my thinking is if they do that, it doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t take an offensive tackle, but all things are pointing towards Hutchinson with the number one pick.

“And Aidan… first of all the production — 14 sacks a year ago, 66 pressures. Then he goes out in the combine and everyone says ‘well he ran an okay 40 time, 4.74 [seconds].’ How about his ten yard split? How about the 6.73 [second] three-cone [drill], which is much more important? Which was an unbelievable time for his size.

“So Aidan Hutchinson has checked off all the boxes. You know you’re getting a relentless player who’s committed, who’s going to make your entire organization better with the way he approaches the game. I think this will be a great choice for the Jaguars, especially knowing they’ve got that left tackle locked down for at least one more year.”

McShay’s logic seems to make a lot of sense, as Hutchinson’s draft position has been in flux almost entirely because of positional needs in the draft. With the Jaguars using the franchise tag on Robinson, they at least know what they’re getting for one more season out of the position. If they’re anticipating using next season to secure their offensive line, they may be using the first pick in the draft to take the best available player for them now.

However, McShay did give his prediction an out by stating the Jaguars could still take Ekwonu with their pick. If they feel strongly about Ekwonu’s impact and potential for their offense, they could just load up their offensive line now. Whatever the Jaguars will decide, Hutchinson’s combine performance seems to have secured his position as a top draft pick this season, and he won’t have to wait very long to hear his name called.