Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson appeared on a collision course with his first ever Defensive Player of the Year award last season, prior to his season ending broken left fibula and tibia injury against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6. The Hutchinson injury deprived Detroit Lions fans of a chance to witness the first ever DPOY season from a Lions player, and sent the former Michigan star back to the drawing board in pursuit of a comeback in 2025. On Thursday, the NFL revealed Hutchinson's ranking on its Top 100 Players list, a ranking that did not sit well with the Detroit faithful.
NFL Faces Backlash for 'Too Low' Preseason Ranking of Lions Star Aidan Hutchinson originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson appeared on a collision course with his first ever Defensive Player of the Year award last season, prior to his season ending broken left fibula and tibia injury against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6.
The Hutchinson injury deprived Detroit Lions fans of a chance to witness the first ever DPOY season from a Lions player, and sent the former Michigan star back to the drawing board in pursuit of a comeback in 2025.
On Thursday, the NFL revealed Hutchinson's ranking on its Top 100 Players list, a ranking that did not sit well with the Detroit faithful.
"NFL Top 100>> @aidanhutch97," the Michigan Football account wrote on X Thursday.
The Lions defensive end was ranked 55th among all players, a ranking that fans took issue with in the comments section.
NFL Top 100 » @aidanhutch97#ProBluepic.twitter.com/dL99MDFL5q
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) July 31, 2025
"Top 10 without the broken leg a year ago," one fan said. "Let's hope he can get back to 100%," they added.
"Too low. Would have been top 20 if not for the injury," another added.
"That's way too low. He's a top 25 easily," another added.
"The best Hutch," another said with a blue heart emoji. "Go Blue," they added.
"It will jump up a lot higher after he wins Defensive Player of the Year...this year," another fan wrote.
"Well, I guess it'll be cool next year when he jumps 50 spots into the top 5," another fan said.
"Blame injuries on that low of a number," another said.
"Wow that's ridiculously low," still another said in a long line of dissenting comments.
"Top 25 when healthy," another fan added.
Hutchinson led the NFL in sacks before his broken leg injury and appeared well on his way to a 20-plus sack season in Motown.
He finished with 7.5 sacks, 12 solo tackles and a forced fumble, one season removed from 11.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in 2023.
Lions star lineman Penei Sewell said before the season that Hutchinson is expected to be an even better version of the player he's known in past seasons, a remarkable statement on a player who suffered a catastrophic injury last season.
Related: 2 Well Known Detroit Lions Possibly in Danger of Being Cut, Beat Writer Says
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Football
