Can Mike Hughes become the Vikings No. 1 corner in 2020?

Can Hughes improve in 2020?

Although Mike Hughes’ season ended on injured reserve for a second straight year, he can take enormous encouragement from his efforts in 2019.

The Vikings are going to need Hughes to live up to his billing and having some in-game experience under his belt should do him the world of good. Providing there are no lasting effects from his neck injury, then all signs point to a step forward.

He has plenty of areas to improve this offseason to make strides forward. Hughes needs to be more physical on the line of scrimmage and be less tentative when covering down the field.

If Hughes can improve on these areas of his game, then we could see big things from the corner next season. He is universally liked within the Minnesota locker room and he worked exceptionally hard to get back to full fitness after his knee injury.

Hughes’ situation is similar to what the Vikings find themselves in as they head into the 2020 season. Both appear at a crossroads in terms of their overall fortunes in this current window and if things deteriorate significantly, it might be time to blow things up and start over.

The young corner has enough talent at his disposal to ensure he can remain competitive. But it remains to be seen whether Mike Zimmer is comfortable with Hughes securing a regular starting spot with so much on the line for the organization next season.