Young Vikings Defender Already Linked to Vicious Word
The NFL can be a cruel place. One prominent example is Sam Darnold, who was labeled a bust pretty early in his career, but all he needed was some time to grow, a healthy organization, and the trust of his coaching staff to evolve into a Pro Bowler.
Vikings Employ Another Bust Candidate
That bust label has been thrown around connected to sophomore Dallas Turner. The highly-touted and pricey defender didn’t have the expected success in year one, so he landed on Matt Holder’s naughty list over at Bleacher Report.
He named six players who need to bounce back in their second campaign in the NFL to avoid the bust label. Mr. Turner was the first guy he listed.
Holder wrote: “Coming out of Alabama, Dallas Turner was widely considered one of the best pass-rushers in the 2024 draft class. With that in mind, it isn’t too surprising that the No. 17 overall pick did not record a single start as a rookie.”
Indeed, expectations were sky-high for the defender, who was the betting favorite to be the first defender off the board entering draft night. He ultimately was the third defender taken, nearly ten spots later than expected. The Vikings paid half their 2025 draft class to move up from 23 to pick him at 17.
He didn’t log a start, as Holder noted, but that was hard to do because the two guys ahead of him (Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard) were Pro Bowlers and available for all 18 games. The lack of starts can hardly be held against him. However, his snap count can, and Holder did.
“But it was a little shocking to see him only take 28 percent of the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive snaps, per Pro Football Reference, and he could receive a similar workload this fall.”
Much more disappointing is the fact that Turner was number four behind the two starters and fourth-year defender Patrick Jones. The 2021 third-rounder had a mini-breakout season that earned him a decent deal with the Panthers in free agency.
His departure is a reason for optimism for Turner fans. Most of the vacated snaps should go to the 22-year-old, as the Vikings didn’t add any big-time edge defenders, and his competition is pretty much undrafted rookies and sophomores.
Now that we have addressed the snap count and the number of starts, it’s time to check what he actually did. In his limited action on the field, Turner repeatedly made splashy plays. In 16 games, he recorded three sacks, 20 tackles, and an interception.
He put his extraordinary athleticism on display throughout the season and seemingly earned more and more of Brian Flores’ trust as he was deployed more regularly later in the year.
Holder concluded, “Van Ginkel is coming off a career year with a personal-best 11.5 sacks to earn a Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro bid. Meanwhile, Greenard has had back-to-back double-digit sack campaigns, logging 12 in 2024 while also making the Pro Bowl. So, Turner has an uphill battle to crack the starting lineup and could have a tough time seeing the field again.”
If both remain healthy and continue to play at their 2024 level, Turner will stay in the number-three role. However, that third guy will play a ton, too. In the modern NFL, defenders, especially on the line of scrimmage, rotate all the time to stay fresh.
Flores even emphasized that he views those three as three starters: “In that room, I really see it as three starters. So you’re Dallas with two guys who receive all the accolades, and obviously are good players. The best thing you can do, and I think Dallas did this, is to soak up that information.”
Turner possesses the ability to rush the passer and cover. That alone opens the possibility of playing all over the field, and a mad scientist like Flores will surely find a place.
There’s still a path that Turner won’t come close to reaching his first-round pedigree. Yet, his lack of snaps can be explained, and he has shown too much promise to ignore.
Turner is still only 22 years old. There’s a good chance those harsh bust allegations will fade shortly after the season opener against the Chicago Bears.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.