Young Vikings Defender Will Have a Double Revenge Game
The Minnesota Vikings host the Atlanta Falcons in the annual home opener. The team will wear the throwback uniforms, jerseys designed to revive memories from decades past. Someone who certainly missed that era of Vikings football is defender Dallas Turner.
Young Vikings Defender Will Have a Double Revenge Game
His age of 22 years shows that there is some untapped potential. Despite that, he has drawn some criticism throughout the last 12 months, simply because he was selected with a first-round pick and didn’t have the role folks envisioned with a top 20 pick.
On Sunday, he could have his big day.
Turner, the Starter?
The first reason why this week’s contest on primetime national TV has the potential to be a career kickstarter for the young pass rusher is that Andrew Van Ginkel will miss the game due to a concussion suffered at an unknown point against the Bears. With the extended opportunity, he can make his critics eat their words.
Turner has yet to start a game in the NFL, but that will likely change. Jonathan Greenard and Van Ginkel were signed last offseason to become the team’s new duo on the outside, and that has undoubtedly been a homerun for the Vikings.
When Turner was drafted a month later, he was stuck on the depth chart behind them, and 300 defensive snaps is a disappointment for a prospect as highly-touted as he was coming out. However, when he actually received playing time, he played quite well, logging three sacks, 20 tackles, and an interception in 2024.
In this year’s season opener, he looked more explosive, stronger, and just more experienced than last year, and that pretty much matched the praise he got from his teammates and coaches in training camp.
On Friday, head coach Kevin O’Connell claimed, “I can promise you guys that my excitement for Dallas Turner, every time I’ve had a chance to talk with you since really the first day of the offseason program, has been real, it’s been authentic, it’s been genuine. I’m so excited for him.”
“There’s a personal football journey that takes place with every player in the NFL. And the jump that he is currently experiencing and will continue to experience will be highlighted with Gink being out this week. But we have viewed it from Day 1 as three potential starters. Dallas will clearly take on a bigger role. That snap count’s gonna go up this week and should stay up,” O’Connell added.
The phrase “three starters” has been frequently mentioned all summer, particularly by defensive coordinator Brian Flores. It’s now time for Turner to showcase his growth in more than his usual part-time role.
Turner, the Falcon?
In a parallel universe, Turner was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons. It just made sense. The Falcons had a decent offense with weapons all over the place and a decent offensive line to support new starting quarterback Kirk Cousins, but new head coach Raheem Morris needed some defensive reinforcements to replicate the success he had with Aaron Donald and gang in Los Angeles as O’Connell’s coordinator counterpart on the defensive side of the ball.
In the last month before the 2024 draft, 75% of mock drafters sent Turner to Atlanta with the eighth overall pick, according to NFL Mock Draft Database. Instead, the Falcons threw a curveball and acquired passer Michael Penix Jr. with that pick.
Last year, the Falcons certainly struggled to pressure quarterbacks, as their sack leader had only six sacks all year. This year, they drafted Jalon Walker and James Pearce in the first round and Leonard Floyd in free agency to fix that issue.
Turner can show the Falcons that they should have gone with him instead.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.