By Zicpraiz 
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson is expected to return in 2025 healthy and ready to resume playing at a high level. Through nearly the first two months of his third NFL season, the former No. 2 overall pick played like one of the best at his position.
He secured 7.5 sacks before suffering a season-ending injury in the team’s fifth game. Had he remained healthy, many were expecting the former Michigan Wolverines defensive lineman to be in serious contention to win his first Defensive Player of the Year award.
Heading into 2025, the 24-year-old currently has the best odds to win the Defensive Player of the Year award (+700), via DraftKings.
Hutchinson recently detailed what it was like for him in the first couple of days after he broke his fibula and tibia against the Dallas Cowboys.
“It’s the worst. I’ve had a season-ending injury before but this one, that tibia break, was an absolute monster,” Hutchinson said during a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
Since 1971, when the Associated Press began giving out the award annually, no Lions player has ever earned the award.