The Kid From Michigan Is Ready to Hunt
Derrick Moore missed Aidan Hutchinson at Michigan by one year. One damn year. But the minute he stepped on that field in Ann Arbor, he was chasing Hutch’s shadow, trying to catch his single-season program record of 14.0 sacks.
“Yeah, that was definitely one of my goals, trying to get to that single-year sack record,” Moore told DetroitLions.com. “Unfortunately, I finished with 10.”
Unfortunately? This kid said unfortunately about 10 sacks. That right there tells you everything you need to know about what Brad Holmes just added to this defense.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Let’s put Moore’s “disappointing” 10 sacks in context. In Hutchinson’s record-setting 2021 season, he played 794 snaps across 14 games, or 56.7 per game. Moore was a rotational player last year, playing 440 total snaps—or about 37 per game. He got to 10 sacks playing about 44% fewer snaps than Hutchinson did when he set the record.
That’s not a consolation prize. That’s a preview.
Now Moore gets to line up next to his Michigan predecessor, and he’s still treating it like competition. “Even being across from him now, I’m just trying to compete with him at the same time, because now it’s like, ‘Alright, who is going to be the fastest to get to the quarterback?'”
The Perfect Storm in Allen Park
Here’s where this gets interesting for Detroit. Last year, Hutchinson was chip-blocked 22.2% of the time—the third-highest rate in the NFL. Every offensive coordinator in the league knows they have to account for him. That leaves Moore with something he didn’t get much of at Michigan as a rotational guy: clean one-on-one matchups.
Moore has already been studying Hutchinson’s tape and picking his brain during their limited time together. But he wants more than mentorship from his new teammate.
“To be a part of this defensive unit with him, I’m looking forward to learning a lot from him, grow with him, and also dominate with him,” Moore said.
Dominate. Not develop. Not contribute. Dominate.
First Look Coming Soon
They’ll get their first chance to work together during organized team activities this week, even without pads. It’s just the beginning of what could be a special partnership for a Lions pass rush that finished last season 30th in time to pressure.
Brad Holmes has been building something methodical here, and adding Moore feels like another calculated chess move. A hungry Michigan product who thinks 10 sacks is a disappointment, lining up next to the guy whose record he was chasing? Yeah, that works.
Think Moore and Hutchinson are going to be the pass rush tandem that finally gets this defense over the hump, or are we setting ourselves up for more 30th-ranked disappointment? Sound off below.
