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Through three weeks, the Detroit Lions boast a top-10 scoring defense and are in the top ten for defensive pressures. A significant part of that is defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson, who's been a one-man wrecking crew as a pass rusher in 2024. That's why he's become an early front-runner for Defensive Player of the Year. But after Hutchinson helped the Lions squash the Seattle Seahawks 42-29 on Monday Night Football, Defensive Player of the Year is now Hutchinson's to lose. Based on odds provided by FanDuel, Hutchinson (+250) is now a slight favorite over Pittsburgh Steelers superstar T.J. Watt (+340). This is a dramatic shift since Watt has been the regular season betting favorite. Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parson was the offseason favorite, with Hutchinson on the outside looking in.
Four weeks into the NFL season, Parsons has gone from the best overall odds to the eighth-best odds (+2500). Parsons is tied with Green Bay Packers star Xavier McKinney and Houston Texans stud Will Anderson Jr. for the award, which shows how far he's fallen and how much Hutchinson has climbed. With the Lions sitting at 3-1, Detroit is primed to make some noise this season. It also means some Lions players are primed to earn some hardware for their hard work.
Why Lions superstar Aidan Hutchinson is the Defensive Player of the Year favorite
Hutchinson has been utterly dominant through two games with 11 total tackles, a league-leading 6.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. The third-year Michigan product has quickly become one of the top pass rushers in the NFL, registering 21 total sacks through his first two seasons after being drafted second overall in the 2022 NFL Draft by Detroit. Right now Hutchinson is on pace for 91 total tackles, a gaudy (and unlikely) 37 sacks and six forced fumbles.
If Hutchinson were to have that many quarterback sacks, it would shatter the NFL record. Michael Strahan of the New York Giants set the single-season sack record in 2001 at 22 1/2. Twenty years later, T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers tied the record with 22 1/2 sacks in the 2021 season. When Watt tied the record, he played in just 15 games and left with an injury in the first half of another. Strahan played in all 16 games when he set the record.
The Lions' schedule for the rest of the season also bolsters his chances. Hutchinson will face three teams who currently back in the bottom 10 of the NFL in quarterback sacks allowed through the first three weeks. Those teams are; Bears (twice), Jaguars, Texans and Titans. Everything is lining up for the former Michigan Wolverine to win his first career Defensive Player of the Year award.
