The Other Vikings Rookie Has a Golden Opportunity
With training camp arriving, all eyes are on Minnesota Vikings rookie J.J. McCarthy. The quarterback will compete with veteran Sam Darnold for the QB1 job, and a good showing might unseat the top guy on the depth chart. However, the other first-rounder, Dallas Turner, will have a unique chance to make some noise.
The Other Vikings Rookie Has a Golden Opportunity
Not only will McCarthy compete, but so will fellow star rookie Turner. The former Alabama defender learned for three seasons under legendary coach Nick Saban, and he wants to showcase his skills in training camp to convince defensive coordinator Brian Flores that he deserves a significant role in Week 1 when the Vikings meet the New York Giants.
That matchup is less than eight weeks away, and Turner’s competitor for the starting outside linebacker job, Andrew Van Ginkel, is still not healthy enough to play football. He suffered a Lisfranc injury near the end of last season.
That can be lingering, and he might join his teammate T.J. Hockenson on the PUP list to open training camp. Darren Wolfson said on Tuesday on SKOR North: “Andrew Van Ginkel, who, by the way, sounds like he’s doing well. Maybe he starts the first couple of days on the PUP, but Van Ginkel should be ready to go here pretty darn quickly. It’s taking a bit longer than all of us thought with the foot, but Van Ginkel is doing well.”
While that sounds optimistic, and it doesn’t seem like any regular season games are in jeopardy for the newly signed defender, those few days without Van Ginkel, and perhaps during the veteran’s ramp-up period, present a prime opportunity for Turner.
Someone needs to take snaps at outside linebacker on the opposite side of pricey free agent addition Jonathan Greenard, and that might very well be the rookie over backup-caliber players Jihad Ward and Patrick Jones.
Turner is a phenomenal talent and he has a three-year track record at Alabama on his resume. He produced 22.5 sacks through those three campaigns and added 32.5 tackles for loss. At the scouting combine, the 21-year-old had one of the best outings of all prospects in this year’s class when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds.
His teammate Christian Darrisaw confirmed the explosiveness during an interview at OTAs. Alec Lewis (The Athletic) tweeted in May: “Vikings LT Christian Darrisaw said Dallas Turner is going to be special. Said Turner put a spin move on someone last week, and CD said the Turner spin move was ‘quicker than Danielle’s.'”
Danielle Hunter’s spin move spooked offensive tackles for almost a decade in Minnesota, so it is nice to hear that the rookie can continue that legacy.
Turner has the skill set to be a difference-maker early in his career, and there’s a world in which he simply steals the starting job from Van Ginkel. In all likelihood, the duo and Greenard will rotate at the two spots with some added opportunities at middle linebacker, but in case Turner is the real deal, Van Ginkel needs to be on the field sooner rather than later.
His first preseason game will arrive on August 10, and the regular season kicks off on September 8.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt