The Detroit Lions have been on a three-year quest to find a competent counterpart to star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, finding only mixed results and no long-term piece of their roster.
The Lions could try again in the coming offseason, with one report predicting the team will use its first-round draft pick on a promising edge rusher who can give the team a solid counterpart to Hutchinson.
Lions Predicted to Land Matayo Uiagalelei
Though the NFL season has just reached its halfway mark, some pundits are already looking ahead to 2026 and The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner published an early 2026 mock draft. Baumgardner predicted that the Lions would use their No. 23 overall pick on Oregon edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei, passing on other needs to add the “perfect” help for Hutchinson.
“The Lions could look for offensive line help in the first round (either tackle or interior O-line), but a long-term answer opposite Aidan Hutchinson still remains at least a possibility,” Baumgardner wrote. “Uiagalelei, yet another young Oregon defender, has the ability to convert speed to power while playing multiple spots up front. Heâd be a perfect Hutchinson complement.”
The 6-foot-5 Uiagalelei earned strong reviews from Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder, who ranked him as the No. 5 edge rushing prospect in the coming draft.
“Impressive agility to be an effective looper on line games, Uiagalelei takes efficient paths to the quarterback by gaining ground vertically while moving laterally,” Holder wrote, adding, “Athletic enough to occasionally drop in coverage, he’s made a handful of impact plays when asked to play zone rather than rush the passer.”
Aidan Hutchinson Returns to the Field
The Lions got Hutchinson back this year after he recovered from the broken leg that cut short his 2024 season. He has gotten right back to his old form, making 7.0 sacks through the first eight games of the season.
Hutchinson has also assumed his place as one of the team’s leaders, saying this week that his team is preparing to bounce back after a rough loss to the Minnesota Vikings last week. The Lions have not suffered back-to-back losses in nearly three years, the longest such streak in the NFL.
âI just feel like we have a winning culture here, and when losses happen, we know it canât happen twice in a row,” Hutchinson said, via MLive.com. “Itâs a credit to this coaching staff and the guys on this team. We know the Commanders are going to be rolling, so weâve got to go out there and execute.â
Hutchinson was also critical of the defensive performance against the Vikings, saying they missed some key opportunities to get Minnesota’s offense off the field.
âThere was not a lot of flow in that game, I feel like, in all three phases,â Hutchinson said. âItâs something weâve got to do a better job at. When the flow doesnât seem to be there, weâve got to find a way to win those games â and we almost did.
âIf we had gotten that stop on that third down, we couldâve given our offense a chance to tie it or win it. So yeah, we just have to be better in the games where weâre not playing our best and find a way to win.â
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