Aidan Hutchinson's $180 Million Deal Proves the 2022 Draft Was a Total Miss for Some GMs

Alright, listen up, 12s! We’re deep into the NFL regular season, but sometimes you gotta look back to understand just how wild this league is. And trust me, if teams could hit a big ol’ reset button on the 2022 NFL Draft, some front offices would be doing backflips for a do-over. We’re talking about a complete shake-up of the top five picks, and the numbers being thrown around now? Insane. It’s a stark reminder that even the "sure things" in the draft can flip on a dime!

The Edge Rusher Who Got Paid , Big Time!

Remember all the talk back in 2022 about Aidan Hutchinson versus Travon Walker? The Jaguars, with the first pick, debated between Hutchinson’s reliable skill and Walker’s raw athletic upside. They rolled the dice on upside, and while Walker has turned into a very good player, snagging a $110 million extension and being a consistent 10-sack guy, the Jaguars would absolutely change their minds today.

Why? Because Hutchinson is simply on another level. This dude came back from a serious 2024 injury and absolutely exploded in 2025, racking up a career-high 14.5 sacks! And get this, he’s already locked down a historic four-year extension worth a staggering $180 million! That’s the kind of game-changing talent that GMs dream about, and it shows why Walker, despite his consistency, just doesn’t bring the same impact. Talk about a decision they’d love to reverse!

Cornerback Carousel: A New Top Tier Emerges

Now, if Hutchinson goes first, it throws the rest of the draft into chaos. The Detroit Lions, who originally picked Hutchinson, would now be forced to go in a different direction. And instead of another edge rusher, the redraft has them grabbing cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. Stingley was a bit of a slow burn, but he lit up the league starting in 2023, establishing himself as a legit top-three cornerback in the entire NFL! We’re talking about him in the same breath as Pat Surtain II. A shutdown corner? Yeah, that’s a solid pick for any defense, even if it creates an imaginary hole at EDGE for the Lions in this scenario.

This domino effect continues down the board. The Houston Texans, who originally took Stingley, would instead land Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner with the third pick. It’s crazy to think how different these teams would look if they knew then what we know now!

This whole exercise just screams how wild the NFL Draft truly is. It’s a total gamble, and you gotta get it right. For us, the 12s, it's about trusting Mike Macdonald and Brian Fleury to build a squad that won’t need a redraft in four years. We’re looking ahead, always! We’ll be rocking Lumen Field and screaming for our guys. Gotta get those Ws, always, right?

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.