Carolina Panthers: 3 trade targets from the Minnesota Vikings

Carolina Panthers trade target No. 3: Mike Hughes (CB)

Mike Hughes is heading into the biggest season of his career. The former first-round pick has the chance to make the No. 1 cornerback spot his own. And the Minnesota Vikings will be counting on him to finally start showing why they allocated such a high draft selection to acquire his services.

Hughes has suffered his fair share of injury problems since entering the NFL. It has been hard to gauge just how well he is going to cope with this increased responsibility given his lack of time on the field. And Minnesota’s fortunes at the back end might come down to how well the player performs on the outside.

They do have the security blanket of Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris in their secondary. And the Vikings also drafted two exciting prospects in Jeff Gladney and Cameron Dantzler. This should give Hughes an increased sense of urgency in 2020. But whether he can cope covering the opposition’s best passing threat consistently is up in the air.

The Carolina Panthers are in a similar situation with Donte Jackson next season. He is another that has shown incredible promise. But this step up in class is substantial.

A move for Hughes would give the Panthers some additional depth that could see Hughes thrive in a different environment. He is heading into the penultimate year of his rookie deal. So the price would be steep. And the Vikings do not have much financial incentive to trade a player they still have high hopes for.