Michigan EDGE Derrick Moore fired up to play with Aidan Hutchinson with Detroit Lions: 'We can cause a lot of havoc'

Michigan Wolverines edge defender Derrick Moore came off the board with the No. 44 overall pick to the Detroit Lions in the 2026 NFL Draft on Friday night, keeping the Maize and Blue star in the state for the next chapter of his football career.

The Lions came up in the draft to come and get Moore, trading the No. 50 and No. 128 overall picks to the New York Jets to get the Wolverine pass rusher.

Moore was voted a captain by his teammates in 2025, capping a career where he was a three-time All-Big Ten selection (first team, coaches; second team, media, 2025; honorable mention, media, 2023; coaches, 2023-24). He appeared in 53 games with 23 starts in his career.

Last season, Moore started 12 games and made 30 tackles, with a team-leading 10.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks to go along with 3 passes defended, 3 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. His play earned him first-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and second-team from the media. 

“I would say for me, it definitely means a lot,” Moore said on a call with the local media. “Somebody who’s just really familiar with the area, pretty much grew up in and loves the area, and I’m just excited just to be back. I feel like Detroit is my second home, really, all of Michigan is like my second home.

“For a lot of people who don’t know my story really well, freshman year, I moved my mom up to Michigan with me, so I really don’t have to go anywhere far. So it just makes everything good for me, and my mom and I are already comfortable, and we just love Detroit and everything.”

Moore, a Baltimore native, was a pick away from potentially playing for his hometown team and former defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, now the head coach of the Ravens.

“It’s actually funny because a lot of people saw Baltimore was coming up and we were like, ‘Oh man, we’re going to see how this is going to be,'” Moore said. “I got the call and it was kind of funny at first. I was like looking at my phone like, ‘Man, I know somebody’s not calling my phone.’ My girl and I were talking and then I just picked up the phone and then [Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager] Brad Holmes called me. He was like, ‘Derrick, what up, man? This is Brad Holmes.’ I was just like, ‘What’s up, my guy?’ We started laughing, he asked me right away he was like, ‘Are you ready to be a Detroit Lion?’

“And I was like, ‘Hell yeah.’ I’m excited about it. I’m definitely glad to be staying home, I feel like Detroit is my second home.”

Holmes said Moore was at the top of their list of EDGE rushers heading into the second night of the draft, and that he caught their attention at the Senior Bowl this winter.

“Seeing that type of competition in real, raw practices for a whole week, and then playing the game, and you can just…it’s a lot of stories that you can get from it,” Holmes said. “But Derrick… his practices were really good. But I knew for him, what he showed was not only did he really show that he was an improved pass rusher, not just outside on the edge.

“He can sub-rush too, which is very intriguing about him as well. I think that was very underrated component of his game. But I thought he did a nice job proving at the Senior Bowl versus top competition that he’s a real pass rusher.”

Moore’s selection unites him with another former Michigan pass rush star in Aidan Hutchinson, who was the No. 2 overall pick of the Detroit Lions in 2022. Moore was an incoming freshman in Ann Arbor, and said that he spent much of the early part of his career trying to emulate Hutchinson.

He wanted to break the sack record (14.0) Hutchinson set in 2021, but finished with a double-digit sack season regardless.

“To be honest with you, that was one right there that I – I’m definitely excited about playing with Hutch,” Moore said. “When Hutch was leaving [Michigan], I watched him my whole freshman year, even my sophomore year. I just – everything was pretty much dedicated to breaking his sack record. I wasn’t able to do it, I got close, but I’m definitely excited to be playing next to Hutch.

“Hopefully, I can learn a lot from him and we can go out and cause a lot of havoc.”

The Lions have been criticized by their fans for not devoting premium assets to their pass rush to complement Hutchinson, who was taken with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The organization has a “type,” and felt that the Wolverines’ captain fit the mold.

“It’s a good question,” Holmes said. “If you want to call it just being very selective on the type of guys that we get, Hutch takes a lot of snaps, so just to have another body that literally can spell Hutch in that rush rotation when you line up in nickel and sub defense. A guy that can line up on the opposite, a guy that can line up inside. [Defensive coordinator Kelvin Shepperd] is going to put the guys in the best position to do what they do best.

“That’s what he showed on tape: he can set edges in the run game. He can rush outside, he can rush inside, and I’m quite sure that’s how Shep’s going to utilize him.”

Moore and Hutchinson may not have gotten to play together at Michigan. But now, two of the program’s best of the last five years get to join forces not far from a place they used to call home.

“I feel like it can do a lot, especially for a guy like Hutch,” Moore said. “We can help each other. He can help me, I can help him. Even the interior guys, it’s definitely going to help a lot just pushing the pocket and everybody getting home. As I said, it’s going to take all four of us.

“As long as everybody’s on the same page, that’s all that matters, so we can all get after the quarterback.”