2. Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan, defensive end
After an injury-shortened season that limited him to three games with 15 tackles, sources inside the program expect Hutchinson, who made 68 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in 2019, to have a huge 2021 season. We had his former teammate Kwity Paye at the top of this list a year ago, and we hear that 265-pound Hutchinson is every bit as big a Freak.
“He’s gonna test really well when he goes to the combine,” one source said. “He has a huge chip on his shoulder and can be right where Kwity was (in those agility numbers), running low 4.6s, with a mid-30s vert, but he’s over 6-6, and he’s gonna bench (225) in the 30s.”
While at Michigan, Paye clocked the second-best 3-cone time on the team at 6.37. This offseason, Hutchinson timed 6.54, which would’ve been better than anyone at the 2020 combine. In addition, he vertical jumped 36 inches, ran a 4.64 40 and ripped off a 4.07 shuttle time. Hutchinson also did a 2.57-second reactive plyo stair, which at 265, amazed even his strength coaches. He is the first athlete that veteran strength coach Ben Herbert has witnessed do a “Turkish Get-up” with 135 pounds and no collars (to lock on the plates) in 24 years working in college weight rooms. (Any mistake or hint of imbalance in keeping the bar perfectly level, and the weight will slide off.)
