EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — For all the heads Mike Hughes has turned in practice with Minnesota since the Vikings picked him in the first round of the draft , they certainly harbored no plan to play him on 79 percent of the snaps on defense in his first real NFL game.
That’s what happened in his debut, though, thanks to injuries to two fellow cornerbacks. Hughes had an interception return for a touchdown and a team-leading three pass breakups in Minnesota’s 24-16 victory over San Francisco .
“You can kind of tell the way he carries himself that he’s not going to freeze up on the big stage,” free safety Harrison Smith said.