5 Vikings players to watch vs. the Broncos in Week 11

Mike Hughes – CB

Mike Hughes is coming off a very rough game. He was targeted heavily against Dallas and gave up about 150 receiving yards. Granted, that was against Amari Cooper, who was playing at an elite level, and it also had to do with Dak Prescott being able to create extra time in the pocket, but Hughes has to be better.

His game does look rough in the box score, but he also had his fair share of solid plays. He was in good position on many of those completions, but Prescott was putting the ball where only his receiver could catch it. Hughes’ tackling was pretty spot on as well. So there were some positives to take away from his rough game.

Another sore spot for Hughes against the Cowboys was his blown interception opportunity. He had a chance to make a game-changing pick that would’ve easily gone for six, but the ball bounced off his hands. The Vikings have been very unlucky when it comes to turnovers this season and Hughes will have to put in some extra time to get better at catching the football.

It’s likely Trae Waynes will be back this Sunday, so Hughes won’t be forced into the starting lineup and get paired against Courtland Sutton. That’s good news for Hughes and Minnesota so he can get his confidence back by playing in nickel and dime packages.

One has to remember that Hughes hasn’t played a full 16 games yet and experience-wise, he is still really a rookie. He can learn from last week’s game and come back much stronger against a weaker opponent like the Broncos on Sunday.