If you asked 100 Atlanta Falcons fans what player they wanted to get rid of based on the first six weeks of 2026, Mike Hughes would probably be the top answer on the board. Hughes has been the corner teams have picked on dating back to last year, and he's regressed considerably in coverage.
Entering Week 7, Hughes had allowed the fifth-most catches (27) and second-most yards (380) among all cornerbacks, but the Falcons continued to trot him out there as a starter on the outside as if he was his 2024 self. Thanks Terry Fontenot for signing him to a three-year extension before 2025.
The issue was that Atlanta had nobody else to rely on, so they had to start Hughes on the boundary. C.J. Henderson missed the Week 6 loss to the Bears and A.J. Terrell spent the last four weeks on IR, and since they both returned in Week 7, it meant that we would see some changes on the outside.
However, with both Avieon Terrell (illness) and Billy Bowman Jr. (hamstring) inactive for Week 7, we weren't completely done with the 29-year-old just yet. He was expected to see work in the nickel, where he would platoon with Sydney Brown, which turned out to be a much better fit for his skillset.
In the 29-20 victory over the previously-unbeaten San Francisco 49ers, Hughes played a season-low 17 snaps, and 15 of them came out of the slot. And although it was a smaller-than-normal sample size, he performed well enough in the nickel to consider whether or not this should be his new home.
The Atlanta Falcons need to move Mike Hughes in the nickel full-time
In the win over the 49ers, Hughes was targeted just four times and surrendered just three receptions for 17 yards--his lowest yardage total allowed this season. Additiionally, he picked up a nice PBU, while he out-performed Henderson, who gave up four catches for 48 yards on nine targets.
Given he was coming off of a matchup where he gave up seven catches for 92 yards on the outside, so we have to see this is a major improvement. And even though it was against a weaker receiver room, it was still a step in the right direction.
For all of their flaws, even PFF is aware of how much No. 21 improved after moving inside. According to Pro Football Focus, the veteran cornerback notched an 89.4 defensive grade and an 87.1 coverage grade--both of which were third on the team behind Jessie Bates and Kendal Daniels.
Between A.J. and Avieon Terrell and C.J. Henderson, the Dirty Birds truthfully don't have much use for Mike Hughes on the outside anymore unless somebody gets injured. That's what he is at this stage of his career: a depth cornerback. But his inside-out versatility makes him a valuable reserve player.
And here's the thing: for all of the struggles the 2018 first-round pick has in coverage, nobody can deny he's one of the better tackling cornerbacks in the NFL. He's good as a run defender, so the Falcons moving him to closer to the line of scrimmage where a nickel role will mean he can make more plays near the box and will be exposed as a liability in coverage less often makes sense.
Obviously, once Bowman returns, he'll step back into that platoon role with Brown out of the slot, so the Falcons can sort of just plug in the UCF product when they need him. But given they have a lot of cornerback depth, this should help Ian Cunningham find a suitor if they deal him before the deadline.
It's fairly obvious Mike Hughes doesn't have a place in Atlanta's long-term cornerback plans, but A.J. Terrell's return helped the Falcons get more out of him than they have in a while--and to play the nickel should keep him maintain a role in the short-term, especially in the event he doesn't get traded.
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