Aidan Hutchinson on Detroit Lions fandom: 'Not a ton of great memories'

After growing up in Dearborn, Michigan and attending Michigan, Aidan Hutchinson now has the opportunity to play for his hometown Detroit Lions. Detroit selected him No. 2 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft last week, and he opened up about what it was like to be a lifelong Lions fan.

Hutchinson was born in August 2000 and has only seen three Lions playoff games — all of which were losses in the Wild Card Round in 2011, 2014 and 2016. In fact, they all came in the Matthew Stafford Era, which came to an end last season when Detroit traded him to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Goff.

In fact, the Lions have a 122-229-2 record in Hutchinson’s lifetime. That’s why he had to chuckle when asked to share his thoughts on his fandom.

“Not a ton of great memories,” Hutchinson said. “We went through the 0-16 season when I was growing up. I’ve been to a couple Lions games before and the atmosphere is great. When the Lions are winning ballgames, it’s like, ‘Happy wife, happy life.’ The fans are so into it. I just hope that when we got the right pieces coming in, I think the coaches are right, I think we can get this ball rolling a little bit.”

2022 NFL Draft: Aidan Hutchinson reacts to Detroit Lions selecting him second overall

Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson won’t have to travel far as he begins his career in the NFL. The Detroit Lions ensured he will stay close to home by selecting the Wolverines standout with the second overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft on Thursday in Las Vegas.

Speaking with NFL Network’s Melissa Stark shortly after his selection, Hutchinson expressed his gratitude toward the Lions as well as his excitement to get started.

“It’s great,” he said. “I’m happy I get to go back to Detroit. Go back to Motor City and hopefully get back to winning some ball games. I’m fired up. They just made a great decision.”

There had been reports all week long that the Lions were interested in taking Hutchinson, who told reporters that head coach Daniel Campbell had his number “on speed dial.” For a Detroit Lions team that ranked 30th in the NFL in sacks and 31st in third down defense, Aidan Hutchinson is certainly a welcome addition.

Hutchinson, who played in 43 career games at Michigan, was a consensus All-American in 2021 and a two-time All-Big Ten honoree. He was also twice named a captain of the team and has a laundry list of other awards he racked up following this past season. Hutchinson is the program record-holder for sacks in a single season, notching 14 for the Wolverines in 2021.