KC Chiefs: Mike Hughes has very little history of proven production
By Matt Conner
Forget the first round investment. Forget the “name” attached as well, if you recognize it. The only concrete thing to really focus upon in the K.C. Chiefs latest trade with the Minnesota Vikings for cornerback Mike Hughes is the actual cost to get him.
On Thursday evening, the Chiefs and Vikes came up with agreeable terms for which Hughes would swap jerseys. The Chiefs gave up a sixth round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft in exchange for Hughes and a 7th rounder. Yes, that means the Chiefs basically slide back approximately 20 or 30 slots after nearly 200 picks have already come and gone for the rights to Hughes.
If that doesn’t sound like much, that’s because it’s not.
In order to keep things in proportion, any expectations for Hughes in the upcoming season needs to run parallel with the cost. That is, however you would expect someone to perform who cost a slide back one round in the final two rounds of the draft one year from now, then that is what you should believe to be true about Hughes in 2021.
Chiefs Fans should keep their expectations low for Mike Hughes.
We recently asked Adam Patrick, site expert for The Viking Age, to tell us more about Hughes from the Vikings perspective and his messaging mirrored the above warnings.
“The Vikings just decided not to pick up Hughes’ fifth-year option, so he’s essentially on a one-year deal now. His future in football was put in question last year when his season ended due to a neck injury for the second-straight year. Cameron Dantzler and Jeff Gladney had already passed him on the depth chart and then the free-agent additions of Patrick Peterson and Mackensie Alexander pushed him even further down the depth chart.
“My hunch is that the Vikings just didn’t think he would be worth keeping around as a possible No. 5 corner over someone less experienced who could potentially develop into a solid piece of their defense down the road.”
In Minnesota, Hughes was scheduled to be competing for a dime corner role, a player who would likely vie for the level of snaps played like Rashad Fenton or BoPete Keyes. That’s not at all to say that Hughes lacks value, because those players are certainly important to the Chiefs defense and special teams units. It’s also true, however, that the Vikings were “over” any notion of Hughes-as-first-rounder. Instead, he was an oft-injured cornerback with little history of proven production hoping to compete for an active roster spot in an ever-crowded secondary.
Last season, Hughes appeared in four games thanks to a neck injury that prematurely ended his season,. The same thing happened after 14 games in 2019, and a torn ACL ruined his rookie campaign after six games. He’s healthy once again, but at this point, the Vikings have apparently grown weary of playing this game for three years
For the Chiefs, there’s a possibility that Hughes finally stays healthy and provides the sort of production that the Vikings drafted him for in the first place. For that, it’s worth taking the chance with the cost involved. However, to depend upon that in any way, to plan for it at all, is an irresponsible move—one that looks like the Denver Broncos right tackle issues because they kept relying on Ja’Wuan James to be healthy.
If it happens for Hughes and the Chiefs, that’s great, but no one should be projecting such production as if it’s a solid bet he’ll put it all together. The Chiefs gave up very little because Hughes has shown very little, and no one else was willing to give the Vikings more than that. That’s the base line that should inform fans’ expectations on the trade return here.