With A.J. Terrell on injured reserve, the Atlanta Falcons are in a precarious position at the cornerback position--and that's putting it lightly. For starters, they have absolutely no depth at the position, but the biggest concern is that even their starting corners have been tough to consistently rely on.
Terrell struggled even before his groin injury, but the bigger issue is with the player who started opposite him: Mike Hughes. Hughes is as healthy as it gets, but the Falcons might be better off with him on IR: he's been that bad, and it was particularly rough in the Week 3 victory over the Packers.
But here's the thing: this new regime hasn't invested much in Hughes outside of keeping him in the starting lineup since he was brought in by the previous regime. Terry Fontenot was the one to sign him to a three-year extension before last season, not Ian Cunningham, and right now Cunningham is forced to clean up the mess his predecessor left behind now that he's struggling.
It's no surprise seeing Atlanta's new GM try to differentiate himself from Fontenot, but if that's what he wants to do, it's time to put his money where his mouth is and start phasing their CB2 out. He's been doing more harm than good this year, and we know the longer they keep this guy around, the more often offenses will pick on him.
So it's time for Ian Cunningham to make a tough decision Terry Fontenot never would.
The Atlanta Falcons don't realize how much of a liability Mike Hughes is
Atlanta may have prevailed 35-14 at Lambeau Field on Thursday, but it certainly wasn't becaue of the 29-year-old. He was a turnstile in coverage all night to the point that a traffic cone would've put up a better fight--and it begs the question of how much longer this team will choose to believe in him.
Take Pro Football Focus for what you will, but even they can't disagree with what a liability Mike Hughes has been for Atlanta. PFF gave him a 38.9 defensive grade and a 34.3 coverage grade--both of which were dead last on the team in a game where the Falcons didn't have many true "losers".
While he recorded a respectable seven solo tackles, it was the coverage that was the major issue. The former first-round pick was targeted six times, where he surrendered five receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown--most of which came on Packers' WR Matthew Golden, who hauled in a 45-yard pass and a 15-yard touchdown from Jordan Love in garbage time with Hughes the primary defender.
Golden's enjoyed a career day on Thursday night, which saw him totally expose No. 21--and make Fontenot's decision to extend him age much worse. The Dirty Birds absolutely don't realize how big of an issue Hughes has been, and if he doesn't clean it up fast, they're gonna have no choice but to play younger options over him and possibly exercise the out in his contract this offseason.
The Falcons would be better off rolling with C.J. Henderson and Avieon Terrell on the boundary and Billy Bowman Jr. at nickel until A.J. Terrell returns, because Mike Hughes has proven he can't be trusted--which could bring the entire secondary down--so his days in Atlanta should be numbered.
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