The NFL Draft ended one week ago, but analysts such as ESPN's Todd McShay went right back to work, already projecting who will be the top crop of talent heading into next spring's 2022 draft.
With that, Michigan junior edge defender Aidan Hutchinson has been drawing plenty of attention, and he's cracked the first round in numerous mock drafts that have already been released. McShay's new drop was no different in that way, but it was unique in that he has Hutchinson as the No. 8 overall pick in the first round, going off the board to the New York Giants (Walter Football has Hutchinson going No. 2 overall, while most have him in the 20s). It's also important to note that the teams slotted in at each pick are based on projections as well.
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Hutchinson enjoyed a breakout season as a sophomore in 2019, notching 68 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, six pass breakups, four quarterback hurries, and two forced fumbles while playing defensive end opposite of Kwity Paye, who was picked by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round this year at No. 21 overall.
2020 didn't go as planned for many, and that includes Hutchinson and the Wolverines. He started the first three games, but left the third contest of the season (at Indiana) with an ankle injury that ended up hindering him from playing the rest of the campaign. On the year, he registered 15 tackles with a pair of quarterback hurries.
Hutchinson did not participate in every contact drill during Michigan's 15 practices this spring, but he should be fully healthy by fall, and head coach Jim Harbaugh recently said the returning captain is continuing to lead the squad.
"The Giants get back-to-back picks here, and we'll start them off with a pass-rusher," McShay wrote. "I loved the value of getting edge rusher Azeez Ojulari in the second round last week, but I'd like to see more on that defensive front. Enter Hutchinson, who was creeping up my 2021 board before suffering a fractured leg in November and returning to school for another season. He's 6-foot-6 and 269 pounds, and he had 4.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss in 2019."
That would make Hutchinson just the second edge defender to be selected in 2022, with Oregon's Kayvon Thibodeaux standing as the only player of that position to be projected ahead of him.
Hutchinson was receiving mock-draft buzz last summer before his third season in Ann Arbor, but the aforementioned injury derailed his season, and he wasn't producing at a first-round level even when he was healthy.
So how accurate are these mock drafts that come out one year before commissioner Roger Goodell takes the stage? McShay was actually fairly accurate, he revealed, with 14 of his projected first-rounders having actually been taken on opening night. He also got five of the top 10 picks correct. His 2021 'way-too-early' mock actually featured former Michigan wideout Nico Collins at No. 18 overall, but he wound up being picked in the third round by the Houston Texans.
Stay tuned at TheWolverine.com as more mock drafts are released.
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