When the Detroit Lions signed free agent cornerback Mike Hughes, they added a versatile and young new member to the secondary. Signed for one year and up to $3.5 million (contract details are not immediately available), Hughes comes to Detroit after one season in Kansas City.
What are the Lions getting in Hughes?
He’s something of a familiar face and name for Lions fans. Hughes was a first-round pick (No. 30 overall) by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2018 NFL draft.
It didn’t go well for Hughes in Minnesota. After earning the slot CB role under defensive-minded head coach Mike Zimmer — notorious for not handing jobs to rookies — Hughes suffered a nasty knee injury in Week 6 while returning a kickoff. The recovery process did not go as swiftly as hoped and impacted his speed.
The Hughes who played in the slot in 2019 and 2020 in Minnesota looked a step slower and less explosive in breaking on the ball than the early rookie or the standout at Central Florida in college. Another serious injury derailed 2020 after just four games, this time a broken bone in his neck.
Now he was damaged goods. Never the fastest CB to begin with (a 4.53 40-yard dash at the 2018 combine), Hughes couldn’t get back his top gear and had a neck injury to worry about as well. His coverage in short-range situations remained pretty good, but the downfield routes and chasing receivers on drags and posts proved troublesome. Hughes was never a solid, sturdy tackler either.
Minnesota gave up on Hughes, trading him to Kansas City for a 6th-round pick swap and a 2022 seventh-round pick. It proved to be a worthwhile trade for the Chiefs.
Hughes was healthy in 2021 and the Chiefs had a better vision of how to use him. Instead of flipping him between the slot and playing outside like the Vikings did near the end of his time there, Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo kept him almost exclusively outside in their blitz-heavy base 4-2-5 defense.
Hughes lacks ideal size on the outside, but he doesn’t mind being physical. He’s solid with his jam in man coverage and has quick enough feet to handle sharp-breaking routes. The Chiefs played a lot of 4-1-6 (dime) and he stayed outside in a defense designed to funnel to the middle of the field.
Two things stood out in watching Hughes in 2021: his tackling was better and his aggression at attacking the ball looked like the prospect at UCF instead of the guy the Vikings bailed on. He still needs help with the faster wideouts (see the Buffalo and Cincinnati games) and his long speed is never going to be an asset. He’s also shown struggles with quick-footed receivers in off-man coverage. Hughes is at his best when he can help control the release instead of reacting to it. Fans who watched the AFC divisional round game against the Bills saw this firsthand.
The playmaking flair Hughes showed during the season was a welcome bonus. He earned the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his Week 14 game against the Raiders where he returned a fumble for a touchdown, forced two other fumbles and logged nine tackles.
In Detroit, Hughes should figure into the starting mix in the Lions’ base 4-2-5 as an outside CB. If 2021 rookie Ifeatu Melifonwu kicks inside to the slot, Hughes will battle oft-injured Jeff Okudah for the starting outside CB job opposite Amani Oruwariye. Jerry Jacobs factors into the mix after his recovery from knee surgery too, with the potential to bump Okudah inside as well. Hughes’ own path can help with Okudah, who is following a similar career arc through his first two seasons.
