Making the Case For the Vikings to Add One Secondary Player Before the Trade Deadline

The Minnesota Vikings have been absolutely incredible on the defensive side of the ball this year, with defensive coordinator Brian Flores continuing his aggressive play calling, which has helped this team to start 6-1 despite the offense struggling so far this season.

Focusing on the defense, while the unit has been very impressive, there is always room for more great players, and there is actually one player in the secondary that the Vikings should consider trading for ahead of the NFL trade deadline. The player in question is Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Riq Woolen, who has had a solid season for Philadelphia thus far.

At this point, the Vikings have a solid collection of starting cornerback in the form of Byron Murphy Jr., Isaiah Rogers, and James Pierre, but adding another corner like Woolen could make this cornerback room even better and potentially give Flores even more flexibility to get creative with coverages and blitz packages.

When it comes to Woolen, he has had a very successful career so far. Before coming over to the Eagles, he played for the Seattle Seahawks from 2022 to 2025 and had a lot of success, especially when Mike McDonald took over as the head coach in 2024 and deployed a variety of unique blitzes and coverages, enabling Woolen to utilize his physical tools and ball skills.

Speaking of physical tools Woolen has a massive frame for a corner as he stands at 6-4 and 210 pounds which gives him the ability to match up with nearly every receiver in addition to having the ability to cover tight ends as well. 

Now, as far as statistics go, prior to this year, Woolen had tallied 12 interceptions, 53 pass breakups, one forced fumble, and four fumble recoveries, which showcases his ability to make plays on the ball and force turnovers on a consistent basis.

Shifting the focus to this year, Woolen has totaled six pass breakups, zero interceptions, one forced fumble, and 27 total tackles, which is solid production.

With that said, the career production from Woolen thus far demonstrates that he is a great corner and could fit right into Flores' defense.

As mentioned earlier, Flores is a very aggressive defensive play caller and loves to blitz, and based on that, Woolen would thrive because his frame would allow him to make plays on the ball when quarterbacks make poor reads as a result of the pressure. Additionally, Woolen would also be a great blitzer and could force some of those bad plays from opposing quarterbacks with his length and physicality.

While Woolen could be a great fit in Minnesota, it is worth wondering what the Eagles would ask in return for him.

To this point in the season, the Eagles are 2-5 and in a very interesting spot based on the NFC East standings with the division still up for grabs, so Philadelphia will not necessarily be sellers, but if the Eagles cannot put together a few wins before deadline they may be willing to move players like Woolen.

If the Eagles are willing to move Woolen, it is important to note that they signed him to a one-year $12 million contract so it is not as if he is tied to their future plans necessarily. As a result, the compensation they would ask for in return would likely be a future fourth or fifth round draft pick which is definitely something that Minnesota would be willing to give up for a player who could make their defense even better right now.

So, as the deadline gets closer, it will be interesting to see how the Eagles approach and if Woolen does become available, because if he does, the Vikings could be the perfect destination and could potentially elevate their defense to a higher level, which could very well make the Vikings the NFC North favorite if they are not already.