What can the Vikings expect from Mike Hughes in 2019?

Hughes will hit his stride late in the season

Just as fans were beginning to fill up the “Dalvin Cook is a bust” bandwagon, Cook finally broke out of his injury-induced slump in the final month of the 2018 season highlighted by a 19-carry, 136-yard, and two touchdown performance against the Miami Dolphins in Week 15.

With his explosiveness back, he also averaged 5.39 yards per carry in Minnesota’s final three games last year and he was more of an integral part of the team’s offense. Again, this could have also been due to the Vikings switching to Kevin Stefanski as their offensive coordinator at the end of last season.

A similar story could play out for Mike Hughes in 2019 if Minnesota is patient enough to let him fully recover and it appears that the team is letting him just do that. According to KFAN’s Paul Allen on Thursday, he believes that it’s unlikely Hughes will be active for the Vikings’ Week 1 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons this season, which could mean the team is committed to a full recovery.

A likely scenario for Hughes in 2019 could be the same as Cook, where he may get off to a slow start, but finish strong down the stretch.

This scenario could ultimately lead to a changing of the guard in Minnesota’s secondary next offseason with Trae Waynes’ contract expiring in 2020.