Mike Hughes and Chris Board Looking to Take Next Step Forward in Detroit

After a quiet start to free agency, the Detroit Lions made two quick moves late in the first week to bolster their defensive depth.

One of these moves was the signing of Chris Board, a former Baltimore Raven entering his fifth season as a pro. Predominantly a special teams player early in his tenure, the 26-year-old made a career-high 41 tackles in the 2021 season.

“They told me that there’s opportunity to come in and play and kind of see where the chips fall where they may,” Board said in his introductory press conference. “I’m just gonna look forward to that. I’m grateful, thankful, just to be here and see where this goes.”

The other move was the signing of Mike Hughes, a cornerback in a similar stage of his career. After three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, he played last year with the Kansas City Chiefs before signing with Detroit.

In 41 career games, Hughes has picked off two passes and has scored a touchdown, while also handling some punt return duties. With Kansas City last season, he played in all 17 games and started five of them.

Hughes has connections to Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, as the two met during pre-draft meetings when he was coming out of Central Florida.

“I actually met with (Glenn) when I was coming out of college and he was living in New Orleans,” Hughes said. “Then we sat down at the combine, and I remember that conversation, he was going over coverages and stuff, and I liked the vibe. Now, here we are again.”

At just 25 years old, Hughes will become a veteran presence in the Lions’ young secondary. He will get to work with youngsters like Jeff Okudah, Jerry Jacobs and Ifeatu Melifonwu.

“I haven’t met any of those guys yet,” Hughes said. “I do know that I’ll probably be one of the most experienced in the group. It feels kind of weird, because I still feel like I’m kind of a young guy. I’ve always been a young guy on a team. So, I’m gonna try my best to come in here and get the best out of these guys every day, come out here and compete, and try to share some of my experiences with those young guys and make the whole group better.”

Board, meanwhile, will attempt to help offset the loss of Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who signed with the Houston Texans after a career year with the Lions. The two profile very similar, as both began their careers as special teams aces.

“He’s becoming a very good inside linebacker,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh of Board in 2020. “Very rarely do you see the guys who excel on special teams the first couple of years and grow into that not become really good defensive players."

In the case of Reeves-Maybin, he went on to become a starting linebacker for the Lions in 2021. He played a key role down the stretch, taking over the defensive on-field play-calling duties when Alex Anzalone went down with a season-ending injury.

Now, Reeves-Maybin is off to Houston, and Board will look to fill the vacancy. Lions head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes elected to bring him in as a possible addition to the defense.

“I feel like I definitely can take that next step, as far as improving and increasing my defensive snaps. So, we’ll see,” Board said. “I definitely plan on working and going from there.”

After going undrafted in 2018, the North Dakota State product settled in with the Ravens. Soon, he was a leading contributor on the team’s special teams units. This role evolved in recent years, as he played a career-high 337 defensive snaps in 2021.

“I was mainly in for a lot of third-down snaps, played a lot of special teams, as well,” Board said. “And, kind of just expanded my role. Each week was a little different, so it kind of just varied.”

The two were sold on the culture created by Campbell and his staff.

“The culture that coach Campbell is creating around here, I could feel it growing,” Hughes said. “When I had those conversations with those guys, it kind of drew me in. And, anybody who believes in me, I’m willing to go to war for.”

“I just kind of look from the opportunity standpoint and culture standpoint,” Board added. “I see them building, and I just kind of want to be a part of that.”