Could Michigan Edge Aidan Hutchinson fall to the NY Giants?

The New York Giants are in for a busy offseason.

Simply put, the Giants have needs everywhere.

That’s the bad news. The good news? New York has two top-10 picks in the upcoming draft.

Just don’t expect them to draft a QB with one of those picks. At least, that’s the thinking by Pro Football Network’s Adam H. Beasley, who says New York should treat QB Daniel Jones as a backup next season, then let him walk rather than pick up his fifth-year option.

Blame some of that on the lack of top-end talent at the QB position in the 2022 draft. Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett is regarded as the top QB – he’s currently ranked as the No. 8 overall prospect in the Fanspeak-Jake Rigdon big board – but he’s unlikely to still be there at pick No. 5 with QB-needy teams Detroit (2), Houston (3) and the New York Jets (4) drafting ahead of the Giants. In fact, it’s possible at least one of those teams overdrafts and takes another QB, which could be Ole Miss’ Matt Corral or North Carolina’s Sam Howell.

That would be great news for New York, as it would push down another top-end player.

And there’s one in particular who could slide to the Giants: Michigan edge Aidan Hutchinson.

It was all but expected that Hutchinson would enter last year’s draft until suffering a right ankle fracture that caused him to play in only two games. He likely made millions of dollars by deciding to stay in school. The 6-foot-6, 265-pound Hutchinson returned, then wound up setting Michigan’s single-season record with 14 sacks this season. He also had 62 tackles and 16.5 TFLs.

So it’s very possible that Jacksonville, owner of the first-overall pick, will make Hutchinson the No. 1 overall pick.

But it’s also just as likely that Jacksonville takes Oregon edge Kayvon Thibodeaux, who spent most of the season ranked atop the rankings. And if Detroit takes Pickett with the second-overall pick, then Hutchinson could fall to Houston at pick No. 3.

That is, unless Houston decides to protect its investment in QB Davis Mills, who played surprisingly well this year as a third-rounder out of Stanford. In that scenario, it makes sense for the Texans to draft the top-rated OT to pair with LT Laremy Tunsil, which as of now is Alabama’s Evan Neal.

That leaves the Jets as a potential landing spot for Hutchinson. However, the Jets recently signed DE John Franklin-Myers to a four-year, $55 million extension. Combined with the general feeling that this is a very deep draft at pass rusher, and New York could instead take someone like LSU cornerback Derek Stingley (No. 4) or Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton (No. 5).

That’s how Hutchinson could fall to the Giants.

Still not convinced?

Walter Football reached out to five NFL executives to determine how they graded Hutchinson and how he compared to recent first-round picks Myles Garrett, Jadeveon Clowney, Nick and Joey Bosa, Bradley Chubb and Brian Burns. The general feeling was that Hutchinson graded closer to Chubbs and Burns than the other pass rushers.

Here’s what an NFC director of player personnel said the the latest Walter Football Hot Press report: “To a degree, I definitely think there is too much hype, but that is especially due to the lack of top talent in this draft. … The Bosa brothers were different animals; Chubb had more juice; Brian Burns was a sexier style of rusher, but Hutchinson is a better run defender than Burns.”

Aidan Hutchinson. Certified BAMF 😤 pic.twitter.com/6qd7QXQrAt

— WeAreBigGuys (@WeAreBigGuys) December 10, 2021