| Allen Park, Mich.— The Detroit Lions selected DE Aidan Hutchinson (2nd overall) and WR Jameson Williams (12th overall) with their first-round picks of the 2022 NFL Draft. 2022 DETROIT LIONS NFL DRAFT QUOTE SHEETS Lions Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn, and Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson, were available to the media following each draft selection. Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager Brad Holmes was available to the media following the conclusion of Day 1 of the NFL Draft. In addition, both Hutchinson and Williams were available to the media via Zoom. The following are quote sheets with excerpts from their media sessions. LIONS FIRST-ROUND DRAFT SELECTION (NO. 2 OVERALL) DE AIDAN HUTCHINSON DRAFT DAY 1 QUOTE SHEET On being drafted by his hometown team: “Yeah, it feels great. It feels great to be home once again. I picked Michigan when I was in high school. Just to have the opportunity to play at home with a lot of the same fans, I’m so grateful. I can’t say how excited I am.” On if he feels more pressure or excitement coming to the Lions: “I’m just going to continue to do what I do and give it everything I’ve got. I’m going to be happy with the outcome either way. I don’t feel a whole lot of pressure. I think it’s great coming back home to stay close to family and make the transition easier. It’s going to be a very good time.” On his message to the Lions fans and the city of Detroit: “To the city, just know I’m going to give it my all. It was such an honor to be on that stage and be picked by the Lions. It was the Lions all the way. The whole draft process I wanted them to pick me. I’m so grateful that I went number two to them. It was so good. Definitely, I’m just still trying to process it a little bit, I have a couple minutes to go. I’m so grateful for sure.” On why he fits well with the coaching staff and the Lions defense: “All coaches, we were firing on all cylinders when I had my visit. I’m really excited to get working with this coaching staff.” On the Lions drafting T Penei Sewell as a big piece on the offensive line last year and him being selected as a big piece on the Lions’ defensive line moving forward: “Again, I’m just going to continue to do everything I can. Penei (Sewell) is a hell of a player, so I’m sure we’ll be getting after it in practice. Iron sharpens iron, so we’re going to be getting better every day. It’s going to be great once I get there.” On giving his mother his dog tag today and his family’s emotions after being drafted: “She was getting emotional earlier in the day when I gave her the dog tag. That’s cool to have that moment shared with her. Even with my whole family being there, it was so emotional before the Draft even started just sitting there soaking it all in, being where we were. It’s almost surreal when you think about it for so long and then you’re actually in that position. Definitely so good having them there. I wouldn’t want any other family with me. They’re really the best.” On if he is on the waitlist for a Ford Bronco and his impressions of Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell: “One, I’m already on the waitlist. We’re definitely going to get these moving parts going. Two, he’s just one of those guys that you want to play for just by the way he composes himself and he does his business. He’s just one of those guys that you want to buy into because you can tell how passionate he is about the game. I didn’t even have to meet him, just seeing him in interviews and seeing how he even interacts with reporters and how he felt about his team, it just felt so genuine. That’s really what I appreciate the most.” On when he knew he was going to be selected by the Lions: “I was talking to my agent. He told me yesterday it was about 90 percent that I don’t go to Jacksonville. Then, I don’t even know how this all happened. It felt like things started to change a couple days ago. I’m grateful to be around now.” On helping to change the culture at the University of Michigan and helping to change the culture with the Lions: “I’m just going to come in and just be me. Obviously, I’m going to stay quiet. I’m a rookie. I’m young. I’m just going to go, put my nose to the grindstone and just get after it and not say a whole bunch, but just earn the respect of others before I even think to step up. I’m just going to go there and do my thing and do what I’ve always done.” LIONS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR AARON GLENN DRAFT DAY 1 QUOTE SHEET Opening Statement: “Exciting time for Detroit with the Draft going on and obviously the player (Aidan Hutchinson) we picked. Listen, we deserve this player, we do, and this player deserves us also as a coaching staff. Again, we’re excited, this is a good time for Detroit.” On what set Lions No. 2 overall draft selection, DE Aidan Hutchinson, apart from the other pass rushers at the top of the Draft: “To me, here’s the unique thing about all these guys is they were all different in some capacity, and they all had an attribute that you like, but the one thing that we thought about Aidan is he’s relentless. Obviously, he can get to the quarterback. He plays the run really well, and man, he is a Detroit Lion through and through, and that is no doubt about that player. And again, that’s why I say we deserve this player, and this player deserves us also. It’s just a true fit.” On if Hutchinson’s versatility made him more attractive: “Well, you know what, with those first two picks, I think that was the one thing that every team saw in those guys. Obviously, he can play on the edge, all right. He’s big enough to go inside on third down and play as a three-technique. And when we’re looking at this guy, the first thing I try to do with each player is, ‘Man, where can I play this player and how can we get the best out of this player and how can we make this player successful?’ And those are some of the things that we thought about. Man, he’s a tough, aggressive, violent type of guy that we need. Obviously, we can do a lot of things with this player, so again, we’re excited to have him.” On if Hutchinson reminds him of any former pass rushers: “Yes, yes, he does, and I don’t want to say who it is. The thing is, he’s his own man. He’s his own man, so we’re going to let Aidan be Aidan.” On Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell telling WJBK-FOX 2 Detroit that Glenn kept telling him about Hutchinson as a player: “He didn’t tell you that did he? I think you’re trying to pull something out of me. But you know what, I did. Man, I went back and watched his freshman tape, and I don’t know if you guys ever watched it, but that’s when he was playing the three-technique for the most part. And so, I’m texting Dan like, ‘Man, there’s more versatility to this player than we probably give him credit for. So, I make a cutup and just show it to him, that he’s played in that position. So now man, it’s things just spinning defensively, man, how can I use this guy in other situations, and you know, those things showed up. Obviously, you know, I like the player a lot. We like the player a lot. Man, we’re glad to have this player, we really are.” On how the team’s draft board rankings probably meshed well with the team’s needs: “Well, I would say this, I’m a big believer in taking the best player available. But it’s always good when that best player fits a need, and I think every team will say that, and every coach will say that. But I do believe in that, and he’s one of the better players on our board, if not the best. So, we picked the player that we wanted, and obviously, we’re going to continue to go through this draft, and when it’s our pick again, whoever that best player is, that’s who we will select.” On Hutchinson saying he wanted to be selected by the Lions during the entire pre-draft process and if the organization wanted Hutchinson the whole time: “Well, I would say this, and I’ve said it before, the first thing I said when I got up here is we deserve this player. So, I think that tells you exactly how we feel about him, and he told you when I said he deserves us as coaches. So, I’m not surprised that he said that. We had really good conversations with this player. I sat there and talked to him for about 45 minutes and the crazy thing about that is we didn’t talk football until the last 20 minutes. We just talked about life, and his goals, and things like that outside of football. And the other crazy thing about this is his dad actually grew up in Houston (Texas), and we know some of the same people. So, that was a good conversation there with me and his dad. Man, it’s a true fit. It’s a really true fit. And again, this is probably my fifth time saying it, we’re excited to have this player.” On the benefit of having a young group of players in the front seven: “Well, here’s my thought when you have young players is man, you can mold them. They’re like clay and you can turn them into whatever you want to turn them into, especially if they’re willing to listen like the players we do have. So, he’s going to fit right in with this group. We have a lot of hungry, hungry players, you guys know this, they’re going to play hard. And my goal and my motto for these is guys is man, we’ve got to take the next step, and that’s what it is. There’s no turning back for us right now. I mean, the honeymoon phase is over for us defensively, I know that, and I’m going to challenge those guys every day to make sure they understand that.” On how he wants to use Hutchinson defensively: “There’s a lot of things that are going through my mind. I’m not going to tell you that. You’ll see it, you’ll see it. But I’ll tell you what, man, it’s going to be explosive and it’s going to be fun to watch.” On if he thinks he can use Hutchinson to play inside: “Inside, outside, he can play with his hand down, he can stand up. I mean, there are a lot of things this player can do. He’s shown that at Michigan. Again, we’re going to put this player in the best position to make sure he’s successful for us.” On if Hutchinson was the player he was seen speaking with on the DetroitLions.com “Inside the Den” pre-draft episode: “I’m not going to tell you that, now, but he was one of the guys that I talked to for a long time.” On what questions he had about Hutchinson during the pre-draft process: “Well, you know what, obviously the questions of arm length, the question of athleticism, and all those questions were answered. The thing is man, he is so violent as a player, and sometimes when you have 32 (inch) arms, it’s overrated, in my opinion, you’re talking about this (gestures). That’s what we’re talking about. People make such a huge deal out of it. So, there’s nothing that this player didn’t answer as far as the questions that we had going through the process. Man, he is a guy. We haven’t even talked about the character of the player. I mean, that right there just stands out more than anything, of who he is and what he’s about. That’s really icing on the cake of being the player. So, he’s going to come and he’s going to change the dynamic of this team just by his presence and the way he plays. He’s a true fit in every way that we need a player.” On if he can adjust his defensive plan going forward based on a player like Hutchinson with all the discussion about the defense switching to a 4-3 base: “Well, listen, I think that’s a little overrated, too because when you look at us as a defense, 75 percent of the time we were in sub packages, which is a four-down front. So, we’re going to be who we are.” LIONS FIRST-ROUND DRAFT SELECTION (NO. 12 OVERALL) WR JAMESON WILLIAMS DRAFT DAY 1 QUOTE SHEET On where his recovery from knee injury is and how much conversation he had with the Lions throughout the pre-Draft process: “The timetable, I really don’t have one. I’m pushing for being ready for training camp. I really didn’t have much with the Lions honestly, but I see myself being a big part of this offense. Obviously, they took a chance on me. They had faith that we can do big things. I’m just here to show my play-making ability and we can change things around for sure.” On what it shows him that the Lions were aggressive in trading up to select him: “It just shows me really that I’m a wanted player, that I’m a wanted player on the roster, and that I have a chance to make a big impact. Really those two things I would say.” On what it means to have Detroit take a chance on him: “It means a lot. At the end of the day, it’s the NFL Draft. It’s something I’ve been thinking about, dreaming about since I was six years old. It’s just a blessing. I’m just excited to be here, excited to be able to be picked by the Detroit Lions.” On how much familiarity he has with the Lions franchise: “I had some, but not a lot. I’ve watched a couple games here or there. It’s just been mutual. Hopefully, I can get learning more about it and we can turn things around.” On if he thinks he would have been the first wide receiver selected if he was not recovering from injury: “Yeah, but there’s nothing you can do about that now. I’m here in Detroit, 12th pick. I’m happy. Let’s do it, really. That’s all I’ve got to say.” On how much he thinks his college production can translate to the NFL and if he thinks he can be a playmaker at the next level: “I think it does translate, and yeah, I think I can be a big-play threat in the NFL. At the end of the day, it’s football, and it’s about how you play it really.” On if he realized how much wide receiver talent they had when he was at Ohio State and the story behind the chain he wore tonight: “We always knew we had the talent. We always competed every day coming in. We always knew how we played and how our talent was, basically just how good we were. So, we competed every day and got each other better over the years that we were together. The chain is really just the ‘SG’ on top of the world, taking over the world pretty soon.” On the watch party for him at the Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club in St. Louis: “I didn’t get any updates, no, I haven’t checked in with it. My message is just family. Really, there’s a lot of family down there. Just a message of love, the message is really—that’s all.” On if he will be motivated by being the fourth wide receiver taken in this Draft: “Of course, but it’s something I won’t be worried about. Like I said, I’m happy to be here in Detroit. I’m happy to be the 12th pick. It’s just something that I can’t control. It is what it is. I’m just ready to play ball.” LIONS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR BEN JOHNSON DRAFT DAY 1 QUOTE SHEET On Lions’ first-round draft selection (12th overall) WR Jameson Williams as a player and deep threat: “It’s exactly what you said. We talked about it in the springtime, finding somebody on the outside that will dictate coverage, and shoot, I think he checks that box, 100 percent. I think teams, when he gets healthy, they will realize where he is at on the field, and that’s what we’re excited about because that’s going to do nothing but open up our run game and the opportunity for all of our other skill players. This is a guy that can stretch the field deep without any, any sweat. He is electric, he’s got juice. Once he gets healthy, we’re going to have something to cook with. It’ll be fun.” On Lions Executive Vice President & General Manager Brad Holmes being aggressive and trading up to secure Williams: “Yeah, I’ll let Brad and Dan (Campbell) kind of go in depth there, but here’s all I know, they said, I think, when they first got their jobs is if they feel passionate about somebody, we’re going to be aggressive and make a move. I know that this is a guy that we as an offensive staff, as a coaching staff, as a personnel staff, as an organization we felt very, very good about and what he can do, not only for our offense, but for the entire team.” zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzOn how much his brain is already scrambling to find ways to utilize Williams: “Yeah, I think that’s part of the evaluation process, though – for each guy, having a vision, if we acquire him, what is he going to do for us. I think, whether we’re in position to get him or not, I think that always happens. I feel really good about where he can play for us, what his best skillset is right now, and where we can continue to have him grow as well because he’s a raw talent in a lot of ways as well. So, he’s got untapped potential that we feel like we can get out of him.”On if Williams can line up at all wide receiver spots: “Yeah, he can, primarily on the outside, but I do know this, whenever you get speed on the inside, it does create a lot of issues for defenses. So, we’re going to move him around. We’ll take advantage of the defense however we see fit that week.”On if he thinks Williams would have been the first wide receiver drafted if not for suffering an ACL injury: “He has that kind of ability, yes. He has that kind of game-changing ability. I don’t know how much the ACL really affected his draft stock, but I do know that he is a top-tier talent in this draft.”On if there was any concern about his ACL injury: “That’s going to be a great question for Brad (Holmes). I don’t have those specifics. I just know what I saw on film with this player and what I got from a one-on-one interview with him. In terms of the knee injury, I can’t provide too many details there.”On what he gathered from his in-person interviews with Williams: “A fearless competitor. This is a guy that he shows up on offense making plays left and right. He’s running routes full speed, whether he’s involved with a play or not. But then you turn on the next clip and then all of a sudden, it’s a special teams play where he is an absolute animal, whether it’s a gunner. I’ll let (Special Team Coordinator) Coach (Dave) Fipp talk about that, but he’s making a play, plays as gunner. He just loves the game and that’s what we’re looking to bring into this building, passionate guys because if you’re passionate and you have talent, we’ve got something to work with.”On how excited he is to add Williams to an offense that has other talented players at skilled positions: “Yeah, I think there’s a lot of diversity there. So, we are going to be able to be creative in how we use everybody. And part of the spring and summer is we’ve just really got to highlight what each guy does best, and once we do that, we’ll put them in position to showcase their talent. But it’s good because we’ve got a lot of different shapes and pieces there that we can be very, very diverse here on offense.”On how Holmes relies on GPS tracking and how rare Williams’ speed is: “Defenses will take notice.” LIONS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER BRAD HOLMES DRAFT DAY 1 QUOTE SHEET Opening Statement: “Honestly, thrilled how tonight went. Just to be able to get Aidan (Hutchinson) and welcome him and everything that he brings, he’s so much of a culture fit in terms of what we’re about. And then to be able to acquire Jameson (Williams) as well, ecstatic. We’ve still got some work to do, but so far so good.”On what made DE Aidan Hutchinson stand out among the top prospects in the Draft: “Yeah, he checks a lot of boxes that we look for. From an intangible standpoint, he plays with a really high motor. He loves football, he’s very passionate about the game. But the other thing that I think is lost with Aidan is—a lot of people, when you’re talking about pass rushers, you’re obviously talking about sacks. He had a lot of them, and he was very productive as a rusher last year. But I think what gets lost is how effective he is in the run game. It’s a three-down League, and I think what he does in the run game kind of gets overlooked, but in a good way because of all the sacks. But obviously, we had all of those guys kind of graded evenly and he was one of them. Obviously, Jameson (Williams) was one of them as well.”On how much the potential positive community reaction factored into the selection of local prospect DE Aidan Hutchinson: “It’s always great to get the, if you want to call him the ‘hometown favorite.’ But I know there is a lot of fanfare for Aidan. His ability to stay home and hopefully be, not only a productive player for our football team, but I know that he’ll make his mark on this community. He already has. It’s only going to continue to trend up from here. Congrats to Aidan, happy for him. We’re thrilled about what he’s going to bring to our organization. You hit it. It’s going to be big in the community.”On if he considered moving up for DE Aidan Hutchinson and WR Jameson Williams’ knee injury progression: “Yeah, I never really thought of moving up really. That just never—I thought about it past-minded, but we were kind of good sitting at two where we were at. Obviously, had no idea if Aidan (Hutchinson) was going to be there or not. But sometimes it falls how you think. It’s unpredictable. As you guys know just as us, it was a very unpredictable first half of the Draft. It was a very unique year. Obviously, thrilled that he was there and available to us in the end.”On if he thought about trading up for WR Jameson Williams pre-Draft: “That’s a very fair question because I wouldn’t say—it was a little later on in the process. It was a while that, with Jameson, kind of seeing the more and more conviction we had on him, the more and more buy-in that we had on him. Everything that he brings, obviously we all know he’s explosive when you take the top off, speed, that kind of stuff. I think what gets overlooked just like I was saying about Aidan (Hutchinson) with the run game stuff, I think what gets overlooked about Jameson is usually guys that are explosive and that fast, that electrifying—this guy’s tough. This guy’s gritty. He’s a dog. He loves football. He just fit what we’re about. Once the conviction and the buy-in kept rising, then I started saying, ‘OK, alright, maybe being that he’s one of those guys that we had graded similarly, very evenly up at the top, let’s go get him.’ I told you guys I wanted to get game-changers. We do think Jameson has those abilities in him to be a game-changer. He can flip the field, all that. We have to do our part to make sure he’s set up for success. We need to develop him. He’s got to get healthy. But we do think we’ve got the right resources and structure in place.”On when he started to make calls to trade up for WR Jameson Williams: “Well, actually, it started before. It actually started before tonight. Again, you never know if a trade can be pulled off or not because when you’re trying to find a trade partner, there’s often contention about, ‘We’re seeing if this guy—’ especially if you’re trading up higher. It just happened to align and work out. I do think it was a win-win for both.”On the type of player they look to trade up for: “Yeah, that’s a good question. I think you have to look at the magnitude and the grade and the upside and the effectiveness and the potential that we think that player can bring. If you have a player that’s at an elite skill set and you’re not sure if you’re going to get that kind of skillset where you’re at, then that’s when you start making plans. I’ve always told you guys, if we have the conviction and we have the buy-in, we know that we’ll be aggressive and go get that player. That’s what we did. I already said there’s not a lot of them, but fortunately, Jameson was one.”On the timetable for WR Jameson Williams’ return: “I don’t want to speak on it and say—come whatever month I say, you guys come back, ‘Hey, Brad I thought you said so.’ But I will say this, with all the medical reports that we have, all the information we have from a medical standpoint, we feel very good with where we expect him to be able to return. Obviously, there’s football shape and stuff like that that goes into it. We take all of that into account. But I don’t want to make a specific statement on a timetable right now at this second, but we’ve had a ton of discussion. We feel good and think that he can return.”On if they felt they had to trade up for WR Jameson Williams when wide receivers started to come off the board: “Yeah, trying to predict—again, it was a very unpredictable first half. But this was a talented group of receivers in this Draft. It was a great group. The more we looked at it, the more it was like, ‘Well, there’s so many teams with multiple first-round picks. There are so many teams that might be in that first-round wide receiver market.’ You just never know. There are 31 other boards that you have no idea and you’re just trying to gather as much information as you can. But actually, I was thinking that if we made the jump and got Jameson, looking back on it now, I thought that if we weren’t able to work out a trade to get Jameson, we could work with some other teams to maybe do a trade and get some of the other guys. Well, those guys flew off. They flew off the board too. But, yeah, it was a talented class. We figured that it would be a lot of them to go. We didn’t know if it was going to be six, maybe seven. We weren’t sure. But that’s not what we anticipated.”On how WR Jameson Williams’ speed stacked up against the wide receivers in this Draft class and if he foresees Williams taking on a speed-type role similar to Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill: “Yeah, obviously Tyreek Hill’s as dynamic as it gets. I think Jameson is going to carve out his own role and be his own player. In terms of the speed question, he was the best. He was the number one from the information that we have amongst all the receivers. That’s pretty evident. When you start looking amongst the Draft, he was the fastest. We felt really, really good about a guy that has rare speed.”On not having as much contact with WR Jameson Williams before the Draft: “No comment.”On if they seriously considered selecting a quarterback: “Well, Draft’s not over yet.”On if they seriously considered selecting a quarterback in the first round: “We kind of—when we saw how it was unfolding and we saw there was a chance to possibly acquire Jameson (Williams), we were pretty set on going up and getting him. And again, it wasn’t going up to get a wide receiver, it was going up to get him. That’s not saying anything about the quarterbacks or anything like that, it was just the fact that Jameson was available. We felt good about going up to get him.”On if they see players remaining on the board that are worth trading up for on Day 2: “Yeah, after we made the trade—and again, that kind of plays a little bit in terms of the conviction that you have to go trade up. We just look at the caliber of the player. Obviously, you’ve got to sacrifice as well, so you’ve got to be at peace with that as well. But, no, we were happy with the trade and the conversation and where we’re at. Now, whatever happens tomorrow, happens tomorrow. That can go either way. We’ll just wait and see. The Draft’s not over yet. There are still some good players out there that will be available to us.” |
