NEW YORK (WXYZ) — After getting off to an incredibly hot start in his third NFL season, Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson has been named a September NFC Player of the Month.
Hutchinson is the defensive honoree, along with Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold and Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey.
Hutchinson currently leads the league with 6.5 sacks. Per Next Gen Stats, he also leads the league in pressures (25). After racking up a single-game career high 4.5 sacks in the Week 2 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he become the fourth player since 1982 (when sacks first started getting tracked) to record a game with three or more sacks in each of his first three seasons. He joins an elite group of pass rushers with that stat (Hall of Famer Reggie White, Justin Houston and Jevon Kearse.)
Hutchinson is coming off his first Pro Bowl season, and he's currently on track for his first All-Pro season. He's the fourth Lions player to win the award, the first since linebacker DeAndre Levy won it in 2014.
The Pro Bowl defensive end is a Metro Detroiter through and through, playing high school football at Divine Child High School in Dearborn before playing college football at Michigan. He's the ninth former Michigan to earn player of the month honor, joining fellow defenders Charles Woodson (five times) and LaMarr Woodley.
