Vikings Employ an Unsurprising Breakout Candidate
Every offseason, folks try to determine the next generation of superstars. Identifying players who could make the next step is a fun exercise between the draft and the regular season.
Vikings Employ an Unsurprising Breakout Candidate
A few years ago, an annual candidate for this category was tight end Irv Smith. A former second-rounder out of Alabama, Smith was first stuck in a timeshare with Kyle Rudolph and then an injury slowed him down. Ultimately, the Vikings replaced him with T.J. Hockenson, and his following stints were underwhelming. He’s currently under contract with the Houston Texans.
Another former Crimson Tide is this year’s obvious choice for the Vikings. Pass rusher Dallas Turner is too talented to continue playing only 300 defensive snaps.
Marc Ross, NFL.com, designated him as one of his ten breakout candidates. He wrote: “Turner played just 28 percent of the Vikings’ defensive snaps in his first season, finishing with 20 tackles, three sacks and an interception. His path to more opportunities opened when Patrick Jones II, who had seven sacks in 2024, left in free agency.”
It was not surprising at all to see Turner struggle to get on the field once people realized how good Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard were. Coming out of nowhere, they played their way onto the Pro Bowl roster in their first year in purple.
In addition to that, fourth-year player Patrick Jones also had a career season, finishing with seven sacks and providing decent run defense. He dipped for Carolina, opening some room for sophomore Turner.
Van Ginkel and Greenard are still in the mix, but Ross acknowledged that next, “Turner should wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks alongside Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard in Brian Flores’ scheme. NFL teams can never have too many pass rushers, and the Vikings clearly took that to heart when they plugged the middle of their D-line with free-agent signings Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen.”
The lack of interior pass rush hurt the Vikings because offenses could focus on protecting the edges on pass plays. With Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in the mix, they need to pay attention to the former Pro Bowlers in the middle, too.
Greenard and Van Ginkel logged huge snap numbers, and dropping those a little could increase their efficiency, especially in key moments, and could be a smart way to send more reps Turner’s way.
Ross concluded, “Expect Turner to benefit from all of these moves in Year 2 and make the ‘huge jump’ head coach Kevin O’Connell has predicted.”
Indeed, O’Connell recently said something about his sophomore: “I hope people haven’t forgotten about Dallas Turner,” the head coach insisted. “[He is] really a guy that I’m expecting a huge jump from year one to year two. He really started to come on as the season went on last year. It’s a tough group, tough lineup to crack when you’ve got those top two guys playing the way that they were.”
Turner finished his rookie season with 300 defensive snaps and 226 on special teams, playing in 16 games. He skipped one contest with a minor knee injury. The first-rounder registered an interception and three sacks along with 20 tackles and a handful of quarterback hits.
Teammate Greenard was impressed by his work ethic earlier this offseason: “He was still here as soon as the season ended, in the weight room with me, working out. He hardly [took any] time off, even though I told him, this is the only time after your rookie year you’re going to be able to have a break, downtime, ’cause the season never stops. It’s just great to see him absorb all this information, retain it really well, and obviously, just put it to use.”
Turner is an easy bet to make for breakout honors. While he, barring injuries, will still not be a starting edge, his snap numbers will undoubtedly rise. Even doubling them from 300 to 600 is easily possible now that Jones is gone.
He’s too talented to be stuck in depth roles for too long. Regardless, at the age of 22 with otherworldly athletic tools, “the sky is the limit,” as Greenard added. If he takes that next step, the Vikings will have a fun rushing trio for at least the next two seasons.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
Vikings’ Nemesis Called Offseason Loser