Post by Purple Pain on Sept 26, 2020 9:58:02 GMT -6
In recent weeks, we've seen a lot of comments similar to: "Is it too soon to call Hughes a bust?" Well, is it? Or is that a bit unfair due to the injuries? See how the year goes?
Related piece:
Purple Insider: The short and long term of Mike Hughes's latest injury
purpleinsider.substack.com/p/the-short-and-long-term-of-mike-hughess
Related piece:
Purple Insider: The short and long term of Mike Hughes's latest injury
Mike Hughes’s career so far has been a failure to launch.
When the Minnesota Vikings picked Hughes with the 30th overall selection in 2018, they did so with the intention of developing him during 2018 and 2019. With cornerbacks Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander’s contracts expiring after 2019, the plan was to give Hughes the keys to the cornerback group in 2020.
They hoped he would provide valuable depth — Mike Zimmer has always said “you can’t have too many corners — for the first two years and then be 100% ready for a starting job entering his third year. It was a process that worked with Rhodes, Waynes and Alexander. So why not Hughes too?
Well, because there has always been a road block each time he showed potential.
In his first game, Hughes flashed some of the talent that made him a first-round prospect. He picked off Jimmy Garoppolo in the ‘18 opener and waltzed into the end zone. One game, one pick six. After the win, Zimmer jabbed at critics who suggested the team should have picked an offensive lineman instead of Hughes in the first round.
The following weeks were not as kind as Hughes played a significant role from Weeks 3-6 with other injuries in the secondary. He allowed 18 of 25 passes into his coverage to be completed and two touchdowns in games against the Bills, Rams, Eagles and Cardinals (per PFF). But those are the normal growing pains you expect from young cornerbacks. We saw the same ups and downs from Rhodes, Waynes and Alexander early on. There was no reason to believe he was anything less than the latest Zimmer project who was coming along.
One misstep during the game against Arizona derailed the plan. Hughes tore his ACL and had other ligament damage, pushing the start of his 2019 season back and robbing him of a normal offseason and training camp.
Hughes’s ‘19 season felt more like an extension of his rookie year, even if he said that he was more comfortable with Zimmer’s scheme and techniques. After missing the first two games still recovering from the ACL injury, he put together a terrific game against the New York Giants with three pass breakups and only 39 yards allowed into his coverage on 10 targets.
A few weeks later, he proved to still be on the roller coaster, giving up 11 receptions for 154 yards and one touchdown against Cowboys star Amari Cooper.
Overall Hughes saw a good amount of work and appeared to be trending the right way. With Rhodes struggling, Hughes became an effective rotational corner. He played 500 snaps in 2019, was targeted 65 times with 41 catches and a solid 93.2 QB rating on throws into his coverage. Two of his highest three graded games by PFF came in Weeks 14 and 15.
But again an injury set him back to square one. Hughes missed the postseason with a neck problem.
The 2020 season represented Hughes’s opportunity to shake off past injuries and prove he can be a full-time starter.
“Mike is a very talented kid,” Zimmer said. “Good conscientious person. He needs to continue to have more confidence in himself. He needs to have more belief that when he goes out there he can cover anybody. I think that's the biggest thing with Mike. If Mike will just say, 'hey I got this guy, it's me, let's go, you and me.' I think that part will help him mature faster and be a better player quicker.”
In Week 1, Hughes had some moments that you would expect from a rookie corner. He gave up six completions on six attempts in his direction for 81 yards. As he did throughout 2019, Hughes bounced back from a bad outing and played well against the Colts, only giving up eight yards on three targets. Maybe a confidence builder.
But once again, an injury has slowed his growth. Hughes will not play this week against the Tennessee Titans due to another neck ailment.
“I think he’s going to be fine,” Zimmer said.
The fact the Vikings did not place him on injured reserve suggests a short-term problem but it’s another setback in the progress of a key player for the team’s future at defensive back.
When the Minnesota Vikings picked Hughes with the 30th overall selection in 2018, they did so with the intention of developing him during 2018 and 2019. With cornerbacks Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander’s contracts expiring after 2019, the plan was to give Hughes the keys to the cornerback group in 2020.
They hoped he would provide valuable depth — Mike Zimmer has always said “you can’t have too many corners — for the first two years and then be 100% ready for a starting job entering his third year. It was a process that worked with Rhodes, Waynes and Alexander. So why not Hughes too?
Well, because there has always been a road block each time he showed potential.
In his first game, Hughes flashed some of the talent that made him a first-round prospect. He picked off Jimmy Garoppolo in the ‘18 opener and waltzed into the end zone. One game, one pick six. After the win, Zimmer jabbed at critics who suggested the team should have picked an offensive lineman instead of Hughes in the first round.
The following weeks were not as kind as Hughes played a significant role from Weeks 3-6 with other injuries in the secondary. He allowed 18 of 25 passes into his coverage to be completed and two touchdowns in games against the Bills, Rams, Eagles and Cardinals (per PFF). But those are the normal growing pains you expect from young cornerbacks. We saw the same ups and downs from Rhodes, Waynes and Alexander early on. There was no reason to believe he was anything less than the latest Zimmer project who was coming along.
One misstep during the game against Arizona derailed the plan. Hughes tore his ACL and had other ligament damage, pushing the start of his 2019 season back and robbing him of a normal offseason and training camp.
Hughes’s ‘19 season felt more like an extension of his rookie year, even if he said that he was more comfortable with Zimmer’s scheme and techniques. After missing the first two games still recovering from the ACL injury, he put together a terrific game against the New York Giants with three pass breakups and only 39 yards allowed into his coverage on 10 targets.
A few weeks later, he proved to still be on the roller coaster, giving up 11 receptions for 154 yards and one touchdown against Cowboys star Amari Cooper.
Overall Hughes saw a good amount of work and appeared to be trending the right way. With Rhodes struggling, Hughes became an effective rotational corner. He played 500 snaps in 2019, was targeted 65 times with 41 catches and a solid 93.2 QB rating on throws into his coverage. Two of his highest three graded games by PFF came in Weeks 14 and 15.
But again an injury set him back to square one. Hughes missed the postseason with a neck problem.
The 2020 season represented Hughes’s opportunity to shake off past injuries and prove he can be a full-time starter.
“Mike is a very talented kid,” Zimmer said. “Good conscientious person. He needs to continue to have more confidence in himself. He needs to have more belief that when he goes out there he can cover anybody. I think that's the biggest thing with Mike. If Mike will just say, 'hey I got this guy, it's me, let's go, you and me.' I think that part will help him mature faster and be a better player quicker.”
In Week 1, Hughes had some moments that you would expect from a rookie corner. He gave up six completions on six attempts in his direction for 81 yards. As he did throughout 2019, Hughes bounced back from a bad outing and played well against the Colts, only giving up eight yards on three targets. Maybe a confidence builder.
But once again, an injury has slowed his growth. Hughes will not play this week against the Tennessee Titans due to another neck ailment.
“I think he’s going to be fine,” Zimmer said.
The fact the Vikings did not place him on injured reserve suggests a short-term problem but it’s another setback in the progress of a key player for the team’s future at defensive back.
... and neither is this Chris guy.