The Minnesota Vikings stacked a pair of first round picks this spring. The thought was that they would have the draft capital to grab their future franchise quarterback. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah accomplished that while hanging onto the second first round selection. Alabama’s Dallas Turner was widely considered the best defensive player on the board, but his start has been slow.
Before the 2024 NFL regular season started the Vikings sent former first round pick Lewis Cine packing. The safety dealt with a career-altering injury, but also struggled to get going out of the gate. Turner hasn’t been hurt thus far, but his usage has drawn a level of consternation. That could be a bit overblown.
Pump the brakes on Minnesota Vikings Dallas Turner
Sometimes plans change, and that could certainly be true for the Minnesota Vikings edge rushing group. This past offseason Brian Flores had to replace both sides of his pass rushers. Danielle Hunter took the big payday with the Houston Texans. Marcus Davenport was done before the season ended, and he was never coming back. Dallas Turner was a great rookie addition, but he was always going to compete with Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel.
#Vikings top-5 and bottom-5 DEFENSIVE @PFF grades against #Titans:
Top-5:
1. ILB Blake Cashman: 84.2
2. DL Jonathan Bullard: 76.2
3. OLB Patrick Jones II: 75.9
4. OLB Andrew Van Ginkel: 74.6
5. OLB Jonathan Greednard: 73.7Bottom-5:
1. S Josh Metellus: 29.7
2. CB Shaq Griffin:… pic.twitter.com/scedZ8J3Vg— The Purple Persuasion (@TPPSkol) November 18, 2024
It doesn’t take much digging to realize how special Greenard and Van Ginkel have been for Minnesota. The former continues to put up exceptional pass rush win rates, and his seven sacks have him tracking towards a career-high. Van Ginkel is in play for the Defensive Player of the Year award, and his eight sacks are a new career-best. Unless one of them is physically unable to perform, they simply aren’t coming off the field.
#Vikings OLB Dallas Turner has been MIA once again this game. Have seen him very little today on the field.
It’s clear now that DC Brian Flores does not trust him at this stage of his young career
Even in simple pass rushing downs. pic.twitter.com/nhcYEpLRxZ
— The Purple Persuasion (@TPPSkol) November 17, 2024
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Both Van Ginkel and Greenard played at least 88% of the defensive snaps on Sunday. That leaves very little room for rookie Dallas Turner to contribute. Veteran Pat Jones logged a 75% snap count and turned in two sacks to advance his career-high as well. With Turner recording only 12 snaps, any sort of momentum would have been considerably difficult to gain.
Related: Christian Darrisaw Blown Away by How Good Dallas Turner is Already
I remain bullish on #Vikings LB Dallas Turner. Brief catch-up with him this week: pic.twitter.com/dHYxI1XZWC
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) November 14, 2024
Opportunity needs to combine with production at some point for Turner. He has just eight tackles through nine games as a rookie. You’d love to see more from a first round pick, but the Vikings bolstered their depth rather than adding someone they needed to carry the load on day one. Turner has topped 50% of the snaps just once, and responded with his first NFL sack. In a measurable game against the Indianapolis Colts, he made an impact on a 46% snap count. It’s been a slow burn and that’s ok.
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First round picks don’t always have the same opportunity in front of them. Dallas Turner remains a high-upside player for Minnesota. It’s ok that his employer has been able to focus on his continued development.
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