Don’t Get It Twisted, a Sophomore Is Balling
Because of his underwhelming (stronger words could be used here) 2022 draft class, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s draft picks are precisely monitored every week, and every mishap is credited to the GM. The spotlight, of course, is on quarterback J.J. McCarthy. However, the 2024 class also delivered Dallas Turner, whose rookie season raised some criticisms. Recently, though, Turner has showcased his talent.
Don’t Get It Twisted, a Sophomore Is Balling
While he certainly hasn’t always stuffed the stat sheet, Turner is flying around and frequently impacting plays. On Sunday, he logged one assisted tackle and nothing else. Throughout the season, Turner has registered nine (combined) tackles and one sack.
However, those numbers can be misleading, especially on defense. If a receiver is having one reception, nobody would argue that he was worth a first-rounder. On defense, meanwhile, not everything is tracked in the surface-level stats.
Turner earned credit for a team-high five QB pressures on only 13 snaps in pass rush. Just for comparison, Jonathan Greenard, who was unstoppable on Sunday, generated four pressures on 21 pass-rush snaps.
Tyler Forness of A to Z Sports commented after the game, “This may seem a bit unusual at first, but Turner has been effective for the Vikings this season. The flashy plays aren’t there right now, but multiple elements of his game have seen significant improvement. Those continue to resonate for Turner and the Vikings.”
Over the first three games, Turner pressured quarterbacks nine times, ranking him third on the team behind only Greenard and free agent addition Jonathan Allen. It’s also fun to see Brian Flores’ vision come to life. He loves versatile defenders, and he planned to use Turner in a versatile fashion, not too dissimilar from Andrew Van Ginkel.
Of the 123 defensive snaps he has played, 56 were running plays. Of the remaining 67 pass plays, he dropped into coverage on a third of them, 23 to be exact. Van Ginkel missed a game and was limited (because he wasn’t needed) to eight snaps on Sunday. If those two guys share the field, good luck to quarterbacks and blockers to figure out what they are doing on any given rep.
Forness added, “His strength is so impressive compared to his rookie season, which is the biggest reason he has taken a step forward. Turner isn’t getting washed out by offensive linemen in the running game and has the awareness to continue pursuing plays on the backside. The flashy plays will come, and it’s because Turner has the boring stuff down.”
The strength has played a huge role. Indeed, if a 21-year-old college kid arrives in the NFL, he doesn’t have the grown-man strength to compete with Christian Darrisaw, but that improves over time, and Turner worked on his power in the past offseason with training partner Greenard.
The veteran has blocked Turner’s way into the lineup during his rookie season, but the mentorship is essential.
Turner expressed during training camp: “Right after the season… [Greenard and I] were hitting it strong in the weight room, watching film, picking each other’s brains. He has a lot of knowledge.”
In April, Greenard declared, “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.”
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.
Turner has still not returned the value of a first-round pick (whose cost weighs even heavier because of the two trade-ups), but he has shown enormous promise in the season’s first three games, and it’s noteworthy that he’s still more than four months away from turning 23.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.