Predicting Lions' 2025 Defensive Stat Leaders in Key Categories

The Detroit Lions have officially started organized team activities, and the NFL season is growing ever closer.

As anticipation builds for the 2025 edition of the Lions to take the field, one major point will be the returns of several key defensive pieces from injury. Most notably, Aidan Hutchinson has been fully cleared for action ahead of OTAs.

These key players will help the Lions' defense in their quest to push Detroit over the top in its pursuit of a championship. Hutchinson will presumably lead the pass-rush, while a secondary led by All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph holds down the coverage aspect.

With the season quickly approaching, there's excitement building as to who will stand out amongst the defense in 2025.

Here's my projection for who leads the Lions in a trio of defensive statistical categories.

Sacks: Aidan Hutchinson

Hutchinson's injury was the most-devastating for a defense that suffered several significant blows throughout the 2024 season. As a result, there's plenty of anticipation surrounding his return.

In five games last season, Hutchinson had 7.5 sacks. This put him on pace for 25.5 in 2024, which would've set the NFL record. While he may not replicate this exact level of production in his comeback season, his display last season showed that he's one of the elite players at his position.

The Lions don't have a marquee pass-rusher opposite of him, so there's no doubt that he'll continue to draw extra attention. Still, he's entering his fourth NFL season and continues to develop counter moves in an effort to effectively shed blocks.

Even if he's unable to get back on that record pace in 2025, he should be able to regain his trademark explosiveness. Additionally, the physicality he plays with will always make him a threat to opposing quarterbacks.

Because of this, I'm expecting Hutchinson to clear his previous career-high and finish among the league's best in this category.

Total: 15.5 sacks