5 Vikings who could get slapped with the bust label after 2020

CB Mike Hughes

If someone already called Mike Hughes a bust, it would be hard to argue against. The team drafted him in the first round in 2018, and haven’t gotten a lot out of that steep investment. Hughes has started just five games and appeared in 20. He has totaled 67 career tackles with 12 pass breakups, 2 interceptions, 2 tackles for a loss, and 0 sacks. That’s an average season for many cornerbacks in the league.

Injury has cost him large portions of his career so far, but the fact he can’t stay healthy isn’t an excuse and doesn’t keep the bust label from coming his way. Hughes can shed any concerns about being a bust this season if he can stay on the field for 16 games and play at a high level.

Hughes enters the 2020 season as the Vikings top cornerback. He is the most experienced cover man they have and had been in Mike Zimmer’s system for three seasons. It is often around this time when players truly begin to understand their place and role in his defense and put it all together.

Hughes has the talent to be a solid NFL cornerback and has already shown flashes of the player he can be. If he gets hurt again, or his play is inconsistent like it was a season ago, he officially will become the Vikings’ latest first-round bust.