Right Now, The Vikings Need to Confront the Dallas Turner Problem
Kevin Stefanski seems likely to run directly at Dallas Turner in Week 5.
The sophomore out of Alabama needs to prove sturdier at the line of scrimmage for the Vikings. At present, he’s contributing to Minnesota’s underwhelming run defense, a situation where simply handing the ball off can be a winning strategy for the battered and bruised Brian Flores defense. What’s going wrong for Mr. Turner?
The Vikings Need More from Dallas Turner
Begin with the acknowledgement that not everyone agrees. There are some who believe Mr. Turner is playing well.
Last week, Janik Eckardt of PurplePTSD offered the precise perspective. One of Eckardt’s concluding thoughts: “The edge defenders were a strength for last year’s Vikings due to the presence of two Pro Bowlers in the starting lineup. This year, Turner’s emergence is the final puzzle piece in potentially forming the league’s elite pass-rushing group, which is even more intriguing given the mad scientist on the sideline who can craft some nasty play designs.”
Without question, Mr. Turner has a pile of ability. Plugging him into Minnesota’s defense offers much to get excited about, especially since Turner has proven to be someone who is versatile, smart, and who works hard. Very likely, Turner is heading toward a strong NFL career.
Consider, by way of contrast, a tough rep from Turner. He’s wearing #15 and is toward the top of the screen. Check it out:
In a very basic sense, Turner appears to do his job. He’s operating along the outside, suggesting that the edge rusher’s job is to force the defender to cut back inside. Even more difficult for Turner is that he’s confronted with a pair of blockers; soaking up two Steelers should involve an unblocked Viking being capable of making a tackle (read more about defense and numbers on The Vikings Gazette).
The problem is that Turner gets washed out of the play. Put differently, he is driven back, ceding ample ground for Kenneth Gainwell to work into. A winning rep from Turner would have involved either splitting his blockers (a fantastic play) or proving so sturdy as to not get moved (a rock solid play). Instead, Pittsburgh gets what it wants be driving him away from the ball carrier.
Check out something similar at a different point in the game.
Again, Turner’s job is to get onto his man’s outside shoulder, forcing the ball carrier to work in toward the rest of the defenders. Turner succeeds in a basic sense, but it’s difficult to hand out too much praise since the Steelers got the precise outcome they wanted.
Pittsburgh’s large lad comes across the screen with momentum to complete the kick out block. Essentially, get a running start to ensure the edge rusher can’t close off that open running lane to the outside of the line. Turner lost this rep (and Ivan Pace guesses wrong when trying to shake loose from the block).
Finally, consider the second rushing touchdown for Pittsburgh:
Dallas Turner flies up the field. That’s a good thing. After all, Turner is so explosive that he leaves the blocker in the dust, getting into the backfield before the tight end can get mitts on the defender.
The problem arises when he’s so vertical that he can’t breakdown in time to make the play on the ball carrier. Turner basically runs himself out of the play by his own doing. Like a tennis player putting a serve into the net, the Vikings’ committed an unforced error.
Across 176 snaps in 2025, Dallas Turner has 13 tackles, 1 sack, 2 QB hits, and 1 tackle for loss. His run defense grade is sitting at 53.7 on PFF.
He is still only 22.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and PFF helped with this piece.
