5 Vikings to watch heading into their 2019 training camp

Mike Hughes – CB

One year ago, we were wondering why the Minnesota Vikings would have taken a cornerback when they obviously needed help along the offensive line. The offensive line was still a disaster, but Mike Hughes showed enough upside to believe that Rick Spielman knew what he was doing when he took the UCF product 30th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Since then, Hughes suffered an ACL tear in Week 7 against the Arizona Cardinals. While this injury has become as routine as oil changes in today’s NFL, it still is a blow for a player that was starting to flash just before getting hurt.

As of now, Hughes appears to be ahead of schedule in his rehab, but it’s eerily similar to the path that Dalvin Cook took a year ago. After moving through training camp without a hitch, Cook returned to the field and suffered a hamstring injury that derailed the first half of his season before playing well down the stretch.

I’ve suggested that Hughes could have a similar trajectory to how Cook’s season turned out, but it will still be interesting to see what the Vikings will do with Hughes. Minnesota’s secondary depth took a blow with Holton Hill receiving a four-game suspension and other corners such as Kris Boyd and Terrence Alexander probably not ready for a full-time role.

That provides intrigue to see if the Minnesota Vikings push him back on the field as soon as possible or take a more conservative route such as the PUP list to make sure he’s 100 percent.