Bucs Bringing In Mike Hughes
April 4th, 2018
UCF CB on Bucs’ radar.
An interesting if not a depressing potential future Bucs player will be visiting One Buc Palace as part of Tampa Bay’s 30 official invites this month.
Per WalterFootball.com, University of Central Florida cornerback Mike Hughes is on the guest list to talk turkey with the Bucs in their own crib soon.
Hughes intrigues Joe.
Hughes was the shutdown corner of the undefeated Knights. The junior had four picks last season and as a kick returner averaged 32 yards a return in his two seasons of college ball (he played one year at North Carolina before transferring to UCF).
When Joe was at the combine in February, Joe spoke with a couple of NFL types who wondered aloud to Joe why Hughes wasn’t getting much run. In these guys’ eyes, Hughes is a big-time talent and for some reason they believed he’s being overlooked.
Now why would Joe be depressed about the Bucs’ interest in Hughes? Given the track record with current Bucs defensive coaches working with rookie corners, if the Bucs draft Hughes, then Joe might have to go light candles and pray for Hughes’ soul.
Be there for Thursday’s Round 1, April 26. Arrive early. Return for Rounds 2 and 3 the following day.
April 4th, 2018 at 9:06 am
Joe,
I understand your sentiment towards “developing rookie CBS”, and you mentioned in Ira’s podcast yesterday, “until they prove me wrong…”.
How in the hell do you expect them to develop talented CBs, thus “proving you wrong”, if they continue to ignore CB?
The lack of solid CB play falls on Heargraves and Licht for drafting a shoddy talent 11 overall.
Ryan smith is a 4th round pick. Javien Elliot is undead red, both are it exactly super talented prospects.
April 4th, 2018 at 9:07 am
Javien Elliot undrafted*
April 4th, 2018 at 9:10 am
Some say he is rising in the 2-3rd rounds I believe, who knows.
(copied from another thread…it relates to all draft threads 🙂 )
HEY BUC FAITHFUL….what do you think about this idea???
Since Arizona at #15 needs to trade up for a QB and very likely will to either #5 Denver, or with the Bucs at #7 if a QB is still on the board at #7 the following:
Bucs receive: RB David Johnson + 2018 15th overall (1st round) + ARZ 5th round pick 2018
Arizona receives: #7 overall pick + DeSean Jackson (their 3rd biggest draft need) + Bucs 4th round pick 2018
I think if you really, really mull it over, this makes a ton of sense for both teams.
How Arizona Wins in This:
DJax gives them another instant playmaker in Fitzgerald’s final season, allows ARZ to get their QB of the future, plus ARZ can use their 2nd rounder on a young RB.
How Bucs Wins in This:
David Johnson (second to a brand new Barkley) gives the Bucs the proven rushing/receiving threat both outside and between the tackles that fits perfectly in our scheme and far better than 2nd tier draft RB crop, allows us to unload DJax’s $11 million dollar salary for Godwin perhaps, still allows Bucs to grab Guard Hernandez at #15 or trade down again, allows Bucs to grab either DE or CB in 2nd round.
Freaking brilliant….roll it around. Respond, if you have the good sense to really see it.
Go Bucs!
April 4th, 2018 at 9:12 am
Must look everywhere with only 6 picks….really only 2 shots at consensus NFL talent with picks 1 &2
April 4th, 2018 at 9:13 am
That’s the last corner article I’ll read because the develop a young corner crap is old. I’ll say it one last time Hargreaves isn’t very good never was. Easterling said that. Ryan smith psh. All coachings fault he’s not revis. And Elliot is that even serious. “prove me wrong” congrats you’re right about not having a good young corner. Dead wrong about development. Get some new material because that line is infuriating and ive heard it a hundred times.
April 4th, 2018 at 9:14 am
Nah Steve undead red sounds better!
April 4th, 2018 at 9:18 am
I’m a UCF alumni, so biased here.
This dude balls out. The return skills are there as well. Why no hype? In my opinion it is because he ran a 4.56 at the combine. Gametape shows he can stay with guys, but numbers are numbers.
This guy made clutch plays in big games for the Knights last season and I wouldn’t mind seeing him in Pewter and Red.
April 4th, 2018 at 9:22 am
At what point do the players at CB take responsibility for their poor play? I mean coaching has its limits. I also dont ever hear about their work habits like we do when we hear about Winston. Do these kids put in enough film time? This could be a team culture problem more than coaching IMHO.
I think the Bucs not changing their QB coach was more damaging to the team and its progress toward a playoff run.
April 4th, 2018 at 9:31 am
If he somehow he makes it to the Bucs in the second round I would love it if the Bucs draft him.
If the Bucs draft Derwin James in the first and Mike Hughes in the 2nd they will have significantly improved the talent in the secondary. When you add that with what the Bucs have done on the defensive line and the outstanding group of linebackers the Bucs already have then you would expect them to make a dramatic turnaround on defense.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility the Bucs could go from the worst defense in the NFL last year to a top 10 defense this year.
April 4th, 2018 at 9:35 am
Is the “Bucs are incapable of developing a CB” horse dead yet?? Keep beating it.
Hughes’ tape is fairly impressive – although only 1 year of starting at a D1 school is a pretty small sample size.
His “measurables” leave a lot to be desired though for a projected outside NFL CB – especially one projected to go in the 2nd rd.
5′-10″ – 4.53 40 – 35″ vertical jump
Short, slow and without great jumping ability ain’t gonna work very well vs NFC South receivers.
April 4th, 2018 at 9:35 am
Mike Hughes – 5’10”, 189 lbs, 4.56 at combine. VHIII – 5’10”, 205 lbs, 4.50 at combine. Can see it coming … another nickel. Would rather see us draft Minkah Fitzpatrick in the 1st Rnd (Safety & CB talent) or Isaiah Oliver from Colorado or Jaire Alexander from Louisville in the 2nd Rnd.
April 4th, 2018 at 9:35 am
That’s like saying we cant develop DE…..How many DE’s have we drafted?….ONE and he cant stay on the field. Its also kind of hard to develop CBs when the opposing QB has 5 seconds to throw because….you know….we haven’t invested in the defensive line. Everything starts at the top and lets be clear…..We got more starters in the two drafts Lovie had final say then when Licht became the shot caller. Licht’s first draft that was all his own……ZERO starters and the biggest draft blunder in modern history….we traded up in the 2nd rd for a kicker….who was out of the league in 2 yrs. When your GM is doing crap like that, coaching isn’t the issue. I promise you….this staff gets fired, Koetter and Smith will land coaching jobs…..Licht wont be a GM again.
April 4th, 2018 at 9:36 am
@ altered
The bucs have 7 picks
April 4th, 2018 at 9:38 am
Maybe VHIII isn’t taking coaching very well because he’s too high to remember what they are trying to teach him? Apparently that is the coaches fault though and they can’t develop CB’s?
April 4th, 2018 at 9:38 am
Joe….why don’t you have the other Joe rhyme in on CB…..since you say there is disagreement on the coaching staff developing young CBs…..(I agree with the other Joe)
As for Hughes and all of the draft prospects….recent developments with NE give me cause to believe that either 4 QBs will be chosen in the top 6 or the Bucs will have several trading partners at 7….if we trade down, this brings in extra picks and the possibility of a wider selection of players & positions…..I would love the extra picks as I think we have so many needs and there are plenty of prospects to fill them….the needs in order to me are RB, CB, DE, G, S…….
April 4th, 2018 at 9:41 am
The only way we get a player like Hughes is to trade down, How Be Ever, if you want a player, you go get them no matter where he is drafted if you believe he can make an impact on your team going forward
April 4th, 2018 at 9:44 am
Hughes should be ranked outside the top ten prospects and could probably be had 3rd round on. Don’t know if I’d trade up for him but if he’s there in later rounds I’d take him. Buc’s are being smart to bring him in. I believe to truly evaluate draft talent it’s best to bring in later round obscured talent than to just bring in the already known favored talent. I’m sure the Buc’s aren’t the only ones going to keep an eye on Hughes, I just hope they don’t get antsy and pull an Aguayo.
April 4th, 2018 at 9:47 am
with the improved dline, the CB play should improve as well…..time will tell…..
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!!
April 4th, 2018 at 9:47 am
SteveK is right!
Hargreaves is a bust (so far) for off the field reasons. Undrafted Elliot, who is a freaking college walk-on, cant be expected to be any more than a 4th corner, and Ryan Smith was a 4th round pick experiment.
That is 0 for 1 with no surprise victories. Bust rate is 50%-50% isnt it? The next guy should work out.
Find another drum to beat.
April 4th, 2018 at 9:50 am
If you really believe that the coaching staff cannot coach talent, why are you not railing out loud to get rid of the coaches?
And if they are that inept, they will be gone next year so why not draft the top talent to be available for the next coaching staff.
April 4th, 2018 at 9:53 am
Agree with DR – The Louisville CB seems like a good match for us in the 2nd rd.
April 4th, 2018 at 9:54 am
I like this kid and he can play but I don’t think he is a top 7 pick.i also like the kid from auburn.if minkah Fitzpatrick or James is there at pick7 then I think you look at those two first but I do like Hughes a lot and think he will have a very good career.
April 4th, 2018 at 9:58 am
Hughes will go no later than the 2nd round but more than likely in the mid twenty of the first round
April 4th, 2018 at 10:04 am
Josh Jackson from Iowa….. He should be a BUC
April 4th, 2018 at 10:05 am
Also….if you believe the coaches suck…..well guess which GM signed them and gave the DC an extension? Licht…..He picked the coaches, the players, draft picks….He owns the product on the field.
April 4th, 2018 at 10:11 am
Hughes is an exceptional talent and someone the Bucs should consider in a trade down scenario or 2nd round. (I believe he will be gone by then but who knows) All this talk about not developing a CB is for the birds.
Do you really think Lattimore needed to be developed?
Do you really think Jalen Ramsey needed to be developed?
I mean I am a Florida Gators fan and I watched A TON of Hargreaves against WHAT?……. SEC QBs!!!!
When was the last time an SEC QB made it in the NFL? Stafford!!!!!
All the passes in the SEC from QBs came out of the sky like a rainbow. Of course he was in position. Watch Denzel Ward against Deshaun Watson though and the guy runs stride for stride.
In the occasional bite, he runs a true 4.3 and has catchup speed so he can afford to overplay.
I’ve seen similar abilities in Mike Hughes who are both in my opinion, way batter than Hargreaves.
We need a CB who has pure talent and doesn’t need a lot of coaching. PERIOD
April 4th, 2018 at 10:22 am
Joe, maybe you should go crawl inside a bottle until this whole draft thing is done. Might be easier on all parties involved.
April 4th, 2018 at 10:26 am
100% disagree with Joes assessment about developing Rookie CBs. Javien Elliot is a career backup, Ryan Smith is a FOURTH ROUND PICK (realize that ACTUAL historic data suggests less than 10% of 4th rounders become starters).
Hargreaves… He was never built to be successful on the outside. I like Licht alot and he has done a great job drafting, however this one is on Licht, not development.
April 4th, 2018 at 10:29 am
My apologies, its not less than 10%. its exactly 10.8%. that means that out of 32 picks, only 3 of those are expected to become starters at some point in their career.
Ryan Smith being a good depth pick is fine with me on both Licht, and the d-staffs ability to develop
April 4th, 2018 at 10:30 am
Think Joe has no clue what he’s talking about and figured if he keeps saying it that it will sound less stupid. Who hell or should I say what coach gets credit for developing a shut down corner or any talented corner. Is vh3 supposed to be developed when drafted that high? Who the hell drafts a top ten pick that needs time to develop, these guys come in day one as a starter. Late round picks need time o develop because they aren’t as talented. No one has ever talked about developing Darelle revis and Richard Sherman it’s only something stupid said in Tampa because the team has sucked for so long.
By that logic they can’t develop a quarterback either.
April 4th, 2018 at 10:32 am
I agree still Joe. This team needs to have their corners be more aggressive, regardless of the defense theyre playing. Never seen a team play off so much. Thats supposed to be for teams who can get to the qb.
Anyway I think Hughes is the best corner in the draft. Glad theyre bringing him in, even tho I think a 1st or 2nd round corner shouldnt happen with this lousy scheme of smiths. Best case to me is trading back and adding picks. If theyre going corner I hope its hughes
April 4th, 2018 at 10:35 am
Ucf stud
Kid can play . He is 5 10 like grimes but bigger. Not great speed but will get physical. I was worried about all 3 corners being 5 10 or shorter.
Need one big guy for all the tall receivers in NFC south. However, he could take over for grimes so would be cool with it. It would be Nice to get some ucf talent on team. Seems like a lot of corners these days are 510 range anyway.
April 4th, 2018 at 10:50 am
Many of the top CBs in this draft are smaller builds:
Ward – 5’10 183 lb 31″ arms
Hughes – 5-10 189 31 ” arms
Donte Jackson – 5’10 178 lbs 30″ arms
Jaire Alexander – 5’10 196 31″ arms
JC Jackson – 5’10 200 lbs 32″ arms
If we want a bigger true outside CB:
Joshua Jackson – 6’0 196 33″ arms
Carlton Davis – 6’1 206 33″ arms
Isaih Oliver – 6’0 201 33″ arms
Knowing Smitty’s D he likely wants another tiny dude.
I like Oliver in terms of the CB with the most upside because he has both great size and great athleticism / movement skills moreso than any other CB; but he still needs to refine his game. Thank god we’re good at developing CBs per Joe
April 4th, 2018 at 11:14 am
Yea Joe isn’t it possible that VH3 is just a busy?
Or maybe he’s not? Don’t we always say u gotta wait 3 years to evaluate a draft pick?
Which then brings me to Ryan Smith- who was a 4th round pick and has played exactly 1 season. Kind of unfair to say they haven’t been able to develop him yet.
Obviously I wish these guys were playing lights out as rookies, but we’ve seen a number of cornerbacks take several years to come into their own.
April 4th, 2018 at 11:17 am
*just a bust?
April 4th, 2018 at 11:24 am
Mike Hughes should develop into a great NFL cornerback.
Put him behind Grimes, and in a year or two- Hughes will be your starting CB for years to come.
Unlike Most- I liked what I saw in Ryan Smith last year.
With a pass rush- I think Smith will develop into the CB we need.
April 4th, 2018 at 11:32 am
Joe your view on not drafting a CB because the coaching staff can’t develop one is a short sighted view that’s only focused on next season. The key in the draft is to build for the future and unless the Bucs show some signs of improvement next season the whole staff will be gone.
April 4th, 2018 at 11:47 am
I have a hard time believing our cornerbacks are as bad as most believe. It is hard to make a true assessment on them when the opposing quarterback has 6-8 seconds to throw the ball. I truly believe this group will improve with the new defensive line players and line coach. I do agree that Heargraves plays too soft. Perhaps he lost confidence due to being burned too often but again this could have been due to a poor pass rush. How many teams with a poor pass rush can you say have two great cornerbacks? I cannot think of any. Look at the Eagles last year, they had a great defensive line but no clear shutdown corner. Same thing with the Giants champs in 07 and 11 who had average cornerbacks but one of the best defensive lines. The Jaguars were not able to stop Brady and company even though they had top notch tandem cornerbacks. Point being, I think a great pass rush will make a world difference and we may even get into the playoffs with Brent Grimes and two or three average cornerbacks.
April 4th, 2018 at 11:56 am
If we draft a CB in the first 2 rounds they are starting – that’s scary, but I dont get paid the big bucs to make those decisions.
April 4th, 2018 at 12:11 pm
Awww, the little snowflake deleted my comments…
April 4th, 2018 at 12:22 pm
Capt. Tim- I thought Smith played OK too. A pass rush will make all our secondary better which is why I’m not so high on drafting James or Fitzpatrick at #7.
Hughes would be a nice pick-up. I think I’d rather have Jaire or Joshua though.
April 4th, 2018 at 12:39 pm
I’d rather trade a 4th for Ronald Darby than use a 2nd on this kid …
April 4th, 2018 at 12:50 pm
Pickgrin- Don’t sleep on I. Oliver cb Co.
Brett kollmann draft breakdowns are all excellent.
https://youtube/_stSvqc4gMk
April 4th, 2018 at 12:51 pm
Look, man, it’s simple. Your commentary primarily and heartily trends towards malicious attacks on the credibility of Joe. You went overboard and are in moderation with many others. What’s the big deal? This isn’t a democracy. This isn’t an open forum. It is Joe who is responsible for every word on the website, positive or negative. Call X player a violent drunk, for example, it is Joe who is responsible for that remark. Therefore, many things are moderated here. It is Joe who owns the website and is accountable. In addition, nobody around here would think to come to your place of business and start blasting you maliciously. Simple as that, as Lovie would say. You want to hammer away at Joe like you do, go for it. Start your own one-page website and have a good time. –Joe
April 4th, 2018 at 1:16 pm
Start your own one-page website and have a good time. –Joe
_________________________________________________________________
Boom roasted.
April 4th, 2018 at 1:29 pm
Yeah, Joe… but I don’t go around calling players violent drunks… I just question Joe’s logic… Is it malicious? I don’t know about that… maybe my language gets a little insulting… You’re right, it’s your website. You can do and say as you please. I’ll try to reign in the insults.
April 4th, 2018 at 2:49 pm
Not crazy about Oliver’s 4.5 40 time Stanglassman.
And then there’s this line from Walter Football – “needs a lot of work to play off-man coverage” – Ruh Row – isn’t that pretty much all we do? – LOL
April 4th, 2018 at 10:40 pm
@Reality
The Mannings were OK QBs in the SEC
April 5th, 2018 at 2:45 am
Draft Mike Hughes AND Shaq Griffin. Bring some national champion pedigree to the team – and yes, UCF is the REAL National Champions.
All Alabama won was the ESPN Invitational sponsored by Dr. Pepper.