Vikings Defender Listed as a Favorite for Rookie of the Year
The Vikings will be looking to get massive contributions from some of the youngest players on their roster.
One of those players is outside linebacker Dallas Turner, who was selected with the 17th overall pick in this spring’s draft. Recently, Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports put together his rankings for the favorites to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year award, and Turner was one of the ten players to make the list.
Vikings Defender Listed as a Favorite for Rookie of the Year
Here is Trapasso’s full ranking:
- CB Terrion Arnold, Detroit Lions
- EDGE Dallas Turner, Minnesota Vikings
- EDGE Laiatu Latu, Indianapolis Colts
- DT Byron Murphy, Seattle Seahawks
- EDGE Jared Verse, Los Angeles Rams
- CB Quinyon Mitchell, Philadelphia Eagles
- DT Braden Fiske, Los Angeles Rams
- EDGE Chop Robinson, Miami Dolphins
- S Cole Bishop, Buffalo Bills
- DT Michael Hall, Cleveland Browns
“Turner’s best football probably won’t start until Year 2 or Year 3 in the NFL, but the way the lights came on for him in his final season at Alabama indicates to me he can be a highly impactful rookie in Minnesota. Remember, this is a recently-turned 21-year-old defender with premier explosiveness and overall athletic traits around the corner. He’s only just started to learn how to consistently deploy his hands and pick and choose the correct times to do so,” Trapasso wrote of Turner’s skillset.
The Minnesota Vikings watched all three of Marcus Davenport, Danielle Hunter, and D.J. Wonnum leave the franchise in free agency. Typically, this amount of production being lost at the position would open up a massive role for a rookie defender like Turner.
However, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah managed to refill the group with veteran talent like Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Jihad Ward. With this being the reality in Minnesota, Turner simply might not get the reps in his first season to be considered for the DROY award.
That being said, if the Vikings want to pin back Turner’s ears and allow him to simply be a rotational pass rush threat, he is more than capable of pulling off that role, particularly playing in an aggressive Brian Flores defense.
“With Brian Flores, a pressure-generating master, Turner can be a pass-rushing specialist in Year 1. There’s also Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard ahead of him to begin his professional career in Minnesota, so Turner doesn’t need to hit the ground running to be deemed a successful first-round pick,” Trapasso continued.
Turner just turned 21 years old in February, making him the youngest player on the Vikings roster and one of the youngest in the 2024 NFL Draft class.
As a result, it wouldn’t be surprising for Minnesota to be patient with the young edge rusher in his development.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.