Jaylen Watson, Kansas City Chiefs
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(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The Minnesota Vikings‘ defense was one of the bright spots in a disappointing 2025 NFL season. Moreover, Minnesota has retained Brian Flores as its defensive coordinator and will now look to improve the unit to make it even more challenging for opponents.
Minnesota frustrated the opposition during the five-game win streak to end the season. Flores’ defense allowed only one team to score more than 20 points, and now it’s about making this sample size hold up for an entire season.
One of the names in the free agency speculation mill for the Vikings is Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson. On Feb. 18,The Athletic’s Daniel Popper published an article projecting the contracts the looming free agents will receive. When it comes to Watson, Popper has him receiving a four-year, $73 million contract.
“Watson is a sticky press corner who is excellent at the line of scrimmage, mirroring releases and taking away space from receivers,” Popper wrote.“He has outstanding route recognition and reactions. He is very rarely out of phase early in downs. Watson is also physical in run support. He lacks the long speed of the truly elite corners.”
Watson earned an overall PFF grade of 74.1 in the 2025 season, ranking 16th among 114 cornerbacks. Moreover, he recorded 53 solo tackles and 12 assisted tackles. Watson also added two interceptions, six passes defended, five total pressures, and 35 receptions allowed.
Vikings Predicted to Be Fit for Jaylen Watson
As for the speculation linking Watson to the Vikings, that came from CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson.
“[Watson] is long, he is physical, he can play outside, and there is going to be a real market for him, and it may price him out of returning to Kansas City,”Wilson said during a Feb. 9 appearance on CBS Sports HQ.
“Teams that certainly need cornerback help and will be sniffing around if their salary cap allows it: TheMiami Dolphins, theRams have a ton of needs, and they have a ton of guys up contract‑wise. So they could be in the market.
“Then I love the idea of Brian Flores getting his hands on Jaylen Watson in Minnesota. So there will be competition, and that will only drive his price up, and I suspect he is going to make a pretty penny by the time he puts pen to paper in the next few months or so.”
Minnesota Predicted to Go Defense in Round 1
Moreover, Wilson also has the Vikings going with a defensive player in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft in selecting formerFlorida Gators defensive tackle Caleb Banks.
“[Banks] was injured for much of the season with a foot injury, played early and late in the year, then he went to the Senior Bowl, practiced all three days, and was dominant each day,”Wilson said during a Feb. 16 appearance on CBS Sports HQ.
“He’s a legit 6‑foot‑6, 330 pounds, and has 35‑inch arms. Brian Flores will love having him in the middle of that defense. We just talked about Seattle and how they built their defense. We know what Brian Flores can do with the unit that they have there.”