Past Vikings 1st-Round Corner Gets a Strong Deal with NFC Team
In theory, Mike Hughes — a Vikings 1st-Round corner from the 2018 NFL Draft — could still be putting in work for Minnesota. He is, after all, still only 28.
Instead, Hughes has most recently been helping out with the Falcons’ secondary. The news emerged yesterday that the relationship would continue for a little while longer. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler passed along the update: “Corner Mike Hughes headed back to the #Falcons on a three-year, $18M deal, per source. Hughes started 15 games for Atlanta last season.”
The ATL Deal for Past Vikings 1st-Round Corner
For a little while, the Vikings boasted an elite collection of talent at corner, pushing the Mike Zimmer defense to soaring heights.
Xavier Rhodes was a tremendous outside corner in his prime, the kind of talent who could shutdown the other team’s top receiver. Terence Newman was a savvy veteran and Trae Waynes had a ton of length and speed. The cluster of corner talent was impressive, precisely what Zimmer was looking for in his secondary, especially since the prime version of Harrison Smith was helping out at safety.
Hughes thus entered a team with a strong track record at the position. Not unlike Kevin O’Connell with his reputation for developing quarterbacks, Zimmer had a reputation for making corners shine.
Drafted at No. 30 back in 2018, Hughes had the luxury of being brought along slowly in his development. The 5’10”, 191-pound corner made a splash early, snagging a pick-six in his debut game in the NFL. Vikings fans, understandably, were elated with his potential.
Unfortunately, Mike Hughes would play only a portion of his rookie season due to injury. He was involved in six games, starting a pair. In fact, Hughes would battle injury as a Viking. He played in fourteen games in his sophomore season before playing in four games during his third season.
Afterwards, Mike Hughes got moved out for a late-round pick swap. Kansas City brought him to town for the cost of a 6th being exchanged for a 7th. For whatever it’s worth, the pick that arrived in Minnesota was sunk into receiver Jalen Nailor.
After playing for the Vikings and Chiefs, Mike Hughes put in work for the Lions before finding a spot with the Falcons. It’s in Atlanta that he seems to have settled into his game. The deal is a strong one for a player who had a rocky start to his career. Hughes has made roughly $19 million in his career, so he’s getting a nice payday.
Minnesota, meanwhile, is moving through its own corner conundrum. Thankfully, Byron Murphy Jr. got retained and then Isaiah Rodgers was added. Safe to say, though, that another starting-level corner would be a welcome addition for the defense. Indeed, this is a time to take a page out of Zimmer’s book; how many corners do you need? Just one more.
The Vikings and Falcons are scheduled to play each other in 2025.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.
