Aidan Hutchinson, Malcolm Rodriguez Earned Respect of Philadelphia Eagles
The Detroit Lions are earning the respect of other teams week after week.
"Hard Knocks" has paved the way for other NFL players to see just how gritty and tough of a team Dan Campbell has coached.
After facing the Lions, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce walked away impressed with the team and with two of the team's young defensive players.
While Aidan Hutchinson did not light up the stat sheet, Kelce explained that the No. 2 overall pick reminded him of a more athletic Jared Allen.
"He has some really, really good stutter, bull rush, long arms, gets extended, can attack you inside, outside or right down the middle and makes it all kind of look the same," said Kelce on the latest edition of the "New Heights" podcast. "Speed to power, they lined him up a couple times in this overload set, where he’s clearly outside the tackle, coming down with a full head of steam. He’s going to be a really, really good player."
Rookie linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez went viral in his first NFL game for hip-tossing Kelce.
Detroit's sixth-round pick has been making waves since training camp, due to his aggressiveness and old-school style of approaching the linebacker position.
The veteran center explained he did not see the Judo style maneuver coming at all.
"I thought I had him. I was driving him in the end zone and right at the last second, he gave me a nice Judo hip toss," said Kelce. "Did not see it coming. It was impressive nonetheless, a quick twist of the hips. He’s a good player. He made a better move on me on a draw play earlier in the game, where he made a tackle on Jalen Hurts. That kid’s got a really bright future. He’s been a star of the Hard Knocks show, seems like he’s got a great mentality."
