The Kansas City Chiefs made a move to reinforce their cornerback depth in mid-May, trading to acquire Minnesota Vikings CB Mike Hughes.
The former first-round draft pick received a ton of pre-draft interest from Kansas City back in 2018. The team paid special attention to him at the UCF pro day and they brought him in for a top-30 visit. The Vikings, of course, selected Hughes before the Chiefs could in the 2018 NFL draft. But now Kansas City finally gets a chance to see what Hughes can do in their system.
Hughes has only spent 13 or so practices with the Chiefs since being acquired in trade, but so far he’s learning quickly. In that short time, he’s even been able to make an impression on one of the defensive leaders in Kansas City.
“He’s coming along,” Tyrann Mathieu said of Hughes on Thursday, June 17. “He’s coming along really good. You know when he first got here, obviously, it’s a kind of complex system. Especially for the defensive backs. It’s a lot of reads, a lot of pattern readings, a lot of communication that takes place. But I thought that these last couple of practices that he’s had, he’s really shown why he was a first-round draft pick.”
It’s good to know that Hughes is showing signs of improvement, having only been with the team for a few weeks. The 24-year-old corner has struggled so far during his NFL career, mainly due to injuries. An ACL injury ended his rookie season early and a neck injury caused him to miss most of the 2020 NFL season. The hope is that he’ll get a fresh start with the Chiefs.
Mathieu knows how important it is to build young players up, especially following injuries. He knows that the faith and confidence that he shows can help take Hughes’ skill set to the next level.
“I think it’s important for us to continue to kind of build him up, even myself,” Mathieu said. “How can I give him the confidence that he needs to go forward? So it’s all about continuing to encourage him and continuing to uplift him. Obviously, there’s some sort of accountability and responsibility that has to take place and that comes from a leader in the room. But I like what I’m seeing from (Mike Hughes). You can tell he’s quick, he’s short-twitched, he can make plays on the ball. He’s got tremendous athletic ability, he’s got great ball skills.”
Mathieu seems to feel that Hughes is a good fit for the defensive scheme in Kansas City. He even expects that Hughes will be a contributor on the defensive side of the ball at some point during the season.
“I think in this defense if you can tackle and play the ball well, you can play for Spags (Steve Spagnuolo),” Mathieu concluded. “I’m looking forward to seeing what he does in camp, but I’m going to be that guy that’s going to continue to encourage him and motivate him because I know we’re going to need him.”
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