Darrisaw, Danielle, and Dallas Walk Into a Bar
Christian Darrisaw hasn’t been in the NFL for too long, but he has seen some stuff.
The stud at left tackle has spent the opening three seasons lining up across from Danielle Hunter on the practice field. He’s now getting reps against Dallas Turner, the No. 17 pick from the 2024 NFL Draft. When Darrisaw mentions that Turner does something better than Hunter while chatting with the media, some eyebrows get raised (and the left tackle wasn’t joking).
Christian Darrisaw on the Upside in Dallas Turner
Hunter leaves large shoes to fill.
Truth be told, Minnesota isn’t leaning on a single player to replace the long-and-strong Jamaican. Instead, they’re looking for the combination of Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Dallas Turner to be a better trio than Hunter, Marcus Davenport, and D.J. Wonnum.
“I think Dallas is going to be special,” Darrisaw notes. “He’s definitely going to help us.”
When asked to elaborate on what made Turner so special, Darrisaw offered this thought: “Definitely his explosiveness. He has that burst. He’s quick. He had a spin move maybe last week that was quicker than Danielle’s. I was like, ‘Damn, like, this guy is going to be special.'”
And for whatever it’s worth, the left tackle was sure to clarify that Turner “put it on someone else” and not Darrisaw himself.
Many think that Minnesota overpaid to get up to No. 17 for Mr. Turner, but the hope is that the 21-year-old will be elite for a long time. Last season, Turner put together 10 sacks and 14.5 tackles for a loss while playing at Alabama.
Recently, Jonathan Greenard discussed the rookie pass rusher, arguing that the rookie is “factory made.”
Meanwhile, Hunter hasn’t been fairing too poorly recently. The veteran pass rusher piled up 16.5 sacks while putting in work for Brian Flores last season. Rounding out the stats were 83 tackles, 22 QB hits, and 23 tackles for a loss. He’s now in Houston, playing on a two-year $49 million deal.
Oh, and one more thing. When it comes to spin moves and recent Vikings history, Everson Griffen is the gold standard. In his prime, Griffen probably had better burst than Hunter and certainly has a lower center of gravity. The combo made the Griffin spin move ferocious.
If Turner proves capable of not even surpassing but matching the moves from Hunter and/or Griffen, then the Vikings will be very pleased with their young pass rusher.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, Sports Reference CFB, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.