Chicago Bears Draft Scout: Mike Hughes

Is Mike Hughes a cornerback that could be on the Chicago Bears draft board?

Mike Hughes took an interesting path to the NFL draft. A recruit out of North Carolina, he was kicked off of the team for an off-field issue. Hughes would up in Community College for one season before transferring to UCF. His 2017 season at UCF was really the only one with real tape that will show if he can translate to the NFL. Did he show enough in this small sample size, and should the Chicago Bears have their eyes on Mike Hughes?

Measurables:

Height: 5’11”

Weight: 195

Age: 22

School: UCF

Strengths

The first thing that everyone is going to point to is the size of Mike Hughes and being under 6′ tall. However, in his tape, you see a player completely unafraid to press. Hughes plays with a physicality that makes up for his height. He wants to be the first person with hands on his opposition and plays with a high intensity.

He is a very physical, and high effort run stopper. He is never afraid to dive into traffic to make the play.

Hughes also has the deep speed that gives him the ability to stay so close to the line of scrimmage. Watch him outrun the Auburn receiver on the play below. The best part is his ability to dominate positioning. Hughes is forcing his man to the sideline to the point where he truly has nowhere to run. Mike Hughes dominated this route.

Hughes has the deep speed and the quick enough feet to stop on a dime. Curls and comeback routes are not easy options for him as he fluidly is able to change his speeds.

Hughes also has loose and fluid hips to change his positioning while maintaining his speed down the field. Beating Mike Hughes deep is going to take a lot of work.

Hughes also played a decent amount off of the ball. He showed his understanding in zone and an ability to make reads in coverage. In the play below he is able to read the slot receiver breaking out, and stick to him, shutting down his half of the field.

Hughes is also an athlete who has experience returning kicks.

Weaknesses

Hughes has the foot quickness to change speeds, but still struggles to mirror routes laterally. He is awkward in his ability, and his lack of experience shows when defending over the middle. You can see the in the play below, and in most situations, his intentions are to push receivers towards the sidelines.

He can also be beaten off of the ball if he is not able to get his hands on the receiver.

Hughes frame also does come up with contested catches and jump balls in the air. Anthony Miller is not much bigger than Hughes, but is a precise mover with physical traits in the air. Watch as he is able to get positioning on Hughes  and beat him in the air. Hughes is not even able to get his head around to look for the ball as the receiver hauls in the easy touchdown. Bigger, more physical wide receivers in the NFL will have an even easier time at this.