Mike Hughes is a former first-round cornerback who started for the Atlanta Falcons before a 2025 Achilles injury cut his season short.
Mike Hughes took a winding road to UCF and then to the NFL's first round, where the Minnesota Vikings selected him in 2018. After stints in Kansas City and Detroit, he signed with Atlanta and earned a starting role. He had become a regular on the Falcons' boundary before injury ended his 2025 campaign.
Path to the league
Hughes began his college career at North Carolina, spent time at Garden City Community College, and finished at UCF, where he was part of the Knights' undefeated 2017 team. The Vikings drafted him 30th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. He later played for the Chiefs and Lions before reaching Atlanta.
2025 season
Atlanta signed Hughes to a three-year, $18 million extension on March 13, 2025. He made 12 starts before suffering a season-ending Achilles injury. He recorded an interception in Week 14 to go with six solo tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass defended in that game, the fourth pick of his career.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Mike Hughes (American football)
- ESPN: Mike Hughes player page
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Defense
12 games played▶Defense · career
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | SACK | INT | FF | FR | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | falcons | 12 | 51 | 40 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 2024 | falcons | 15 | 66 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2023 | falcons | 15 | 21 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2022 | lions | 16 | 51 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2021 | chiefs | 17 | 47 | 40 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 2020 | vikings | 4 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019 | vikings | 14 | 45 | 39 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 2018 | vikings | 6 | 22 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Cornerback
- Group
- defense
- College
- UCF
- Hometown
- New Bern, NC, USA
- Age
- 29
- Status
- active
