Aidan Hutchinson sees similarities with 2023 Lions, 2021 Michigan teams

Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson knows the solemn history of the franchise’s recent fortunes quite well. Hutchinson grew up in Michigan rooting for the team, and not seeing a lot of success to root about.

It was a similar fate he experienced growing up the son of a decorated Michigan football player and fan of the Wolverines. Michigan struggled in the first two decades of the 21st century, winning just three Big Ten titles.

But Hutchinson helped lead the turnaround in 2021 as the Wolverines won the Big Ten for the first time since 2004 and made the College Football Playoff. This week on his radio show, Rich Eisen asked Hutchinson if he is getting some similar vibes this year with the Lions as he did in 2021 with Michigan.

“Maybe a little bandwagon isn’t horrible after all,” Hutchinson said. “I grew up with with some not-so-great Lions football teams. The fact that we got a little hype now and we’re cooking with a little bit of gas, maybe a couple bandwagoners are not the worst thing in the world. It does give me those vibes.”

Since Hutchinson’s birth in 2000, the Lions have had a winning record six times and made the playoffs three times. They haven’t won a playoff game during that span. Their last division title came in 1993 and their last playoff win was in 1991.

But fortunes changed last season, the second year under head coach Dan Campbell. Detroit jumped from 3-13-1 to 9-8, just missing out on making it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

“Everywhere I’ve went — high school, college, now at this pro level — I feel like the more time that I’m there and the more development that I’m there and the more the team develops, in high school and college by the end of it, we blossomed into this championship-winning team,” Hutchinson said. “It kind of felt like that way last year. At the end, we started to blossom a little bit, got a little taste of what some Lions success could be.”

Detroit is hoping to make a run this year in a new-look NFL North. With Aaron Rodgers out of the division, the Lions and the Minnesota Vikings are both a cut above the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.

“Why not us this year?” Hutchinson said. “I know that’s our mentality. It’s just a completely different Lions team, I believe, than the previous years. That’s the mentality. Nobody should be surprised if we do win a lot of games just because we have so much talent. I feel like we got all the right coaches in place. There should be no reason why we can’t be a championship team.”