PFF says what every Lions fan already knows about Aidan Hutchinson

The Detroit Lions' entire offseason has essentially taken two paths: the first is worrying about the talent the team let go this offseason, and the second is worrying about the injuries to the remaining talent.

It's been a lot of fun!

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At the risk of being overly simplistic, so much of the Lions' upcoming season depends on the health of Aidan Hutchinson. Credit to last year's team for staying relatively competitive after he went down with a knee injury, but it was clear to just about anyone who watched that they weren't the same team afterwards.

Turns out, losing one of the league's best pass rushers and a team captain isn't great for morale.

Even with all the concerns about life after Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, there's still an easy argument to be made that the Lions, with a healthy Hutchinson, are the class of their division, and maybe their conference; Hutchinson's just that good. And thanks to our friends at Pro Football Focus, we don't even have to make the argument.

PFF thinks Aidan Hutchinson is a Top-25 player in the NFL, and who am I to disagree?

Here's what PFF wrote about Hutch:

PFF ranking: 25th
"Hutchinson was on pace for a legendary season — and likely a Defensive Player of the Year award —before a season-ending injury in Week 6 derailed his 2024 campaign. Coming off an elite 91.0 PFF grade in 2023, he opened the year with 45 pressures, eight sacks and a staggering 38.3% pass-rush win rate through the Lions’ first five games. Sustaining that pace over a full season could have produced the best edge defender season in PFF history. Hutchinson is already elite; now Detroit just needs him back at full strength."

Already elite! I like the sound of that. It's fun to not have to debate if a player is or isn't elite, especially when said player is the leader of the Detroit Lions.

Considering how miserable this offseason has been, it's nice to hear that the Lions' hopes aren't all totally ruined just because they lost two coordinators and had a weird couple draft picks. It's almost like this group was one quarter away from the Super Bowl, like, 18 months ago.

And I don't want to sound too crazy, but now I almost feel ... hope? Optimism? There's nothing a good PFF grade can't solve.