Hutchinson grew up idolizing the Patriots and Tom Brady.

This Sunday, the Detroit Lions are scheduled to take on the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. For one player, this is a big deal: No. 2 overall pick and Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. Hutchinson was a major fan of the Patriots growing up, thanks in no small part to the presence of Tom Brady on the team during his childhood.

Aidan Hutchinson says his childhood New England Patriots fandom ‘no good’ ahead of matchup https://t.co/RyKubw8kJg

— Replay Madness (@replay_madness) October 7, 2022

“I just liked Tom Brady. Every kid loves Tom Brady,” Hutchinson told reporters after the Lions’ Thursday practice. “Hopefully, one of these days I’ll get the chance to hit Tom, but we’ll see. I would say that Patriots fandom that you referenced is no good.”

Hutchinson is looking forward to playing against the Patriots, even if Brady is no longer there, given the team’s longstanding pedigree. According to his coach, Dan Campbell, Hutchinson and his teammates are in good shape for the match-up.

Aidan Hutchinson on if he was a Patriots fan growing up. 😂 #OnePride pic.twitter.com/70y03kJXeT

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“Every week, he’s getting a little bit better,” Campbell said of Hutchinson. “I think he’s one of the players that I think we need to look long and hard about, ‘Do we need to move him in some different spots? Do we need to see if we can give him an opportunity to have more success?’ But look, I think he did a lot of good things in the run game [versus the Seattle Seahawks], and look, I think he’s kind of where our defense is right now, where we’ve just got to improve, I mean get a little bit better, and I think we can all help each other.”