The KC Chiefs have upgraded their secondary after the 2021 NFL Draft with a trade for cornerback Mike Hughes of the Minnesota Vikings. Given that Hughes was likely going to be a future release, it looks like the Chiefs were able to get a solid deal in simply swapping back one round late in the 2022 draft. Per ESPN reporter Field Yates, Hughes goes to K.C. along with a seventh round choice while the Vikings get a sixth round pick in the swap.
Hughes has hardly lived up to his billing as a former first round draft pick, but that’s not fully on him,. He’s been very unlucky when it comes to injuries ever since he was drafted.
He’s made only 7 NFL starts and played in only four games last season overall. He had a torn ACL ruin his rookie campaign in the NFL with the Vikings after Week 6. He made it nearly a full season with the Vikings in 2019 but he suffered a neck injury at season’s end, and complications from that limited him last season.
For the Chiefs, however, the chance to buy-low on a former first-round talent like Hughes is exactly the sort of investment that general manager Brett Veach has liked to make in the past. From trades for first-round lineman Cam Erving to second-round linebacker Reggie Ragland to signing former first-round pass rusher Taco Charlton, Veach has often tried to draw something out of once-promising talents later than other GMs.
