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Kevin Seifert, ESPN Staff Writer
EAGAN, Minn. — After a quiet start to his rookie season, Minnesota Vikings linebacker Dallas Turner finally made some noise in recent days, though it’s difficult to determine what it means. Was it a sign that Turner has worked his way into a regular role on a veteran defense that hasn’t really needed him? Or was it simply a temporary appearance necessitated by the health of those around him?
The product of the most costly draft-day trade in Vikings history, the first-rounder played 24 snaps in the team’s 21-13 victory Sunday night over the Indianapolis Colts. His snap count totaled more than his previous three games combined and was by far his highest total in a single game since Week 1 — but it does not appear to have been planned.
Starter Andrew Van Ginkel had a minor health issue during the game, defensive coordinator Brian Flores said Tuesday, and “Dallas was the next guy in.” Turner responded with six pressures on 10 pass rushes, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, and it was enough to merit continued time on the field.
“Gink said he was ready to go back in,” Flores said, “and we just kept the same kind of grouping for the remainder of the game. And Dallas did a few good things as well. That’s a deep room. There’s a lot of good players in there, and by and large we’re going to go with the hot hand.”
The issue of Turner’s playing time had grown into a recurring weekly theme this season for some Vikings fans and media members, even as the team maintained a defense that ranked No. 1 in the NFL via DVOA. Turner was drafted after the Vikings signed Van Ginkel and fellow outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard in free agency, and they have played so well that it has been hard to get them off the field.
Greenard is tied for sixth in the NFL in sacks (7) and is ninth in pressures (27), according to ESPN Research, while Van Ginkel has five sacks and two interception returns for touchdowns. Both have played 80% of the Vikings’ defensive snaps, while veteran backup Pat Jones II (five sacks) has played 50%.
Turner played 51.5% of the defensive snaps during the Vikings’ Week 1 blowout of the New York Giants but then was largely relegated to special teams after suffering a minor knee injury in Week 2. There are 93 NFL rookies with more total snaps than him this season, including 55 who have played more snaps on defense. Overall, Turner has played nearly as many snaps on special teams (101) as he has on defense (107). His defensive snap count represents 20% of the team’s total defensive plays.
The sight of a first-round pass rusher lining up as a guard on punt coverage was alarming, but the question was why.
Was Turner simply buried on a depth chart stocked with highly performing players? Or was he already sinking into the pit that has swallowed many other recent Vikings draft choices. Most notably, 2022 first-round pick Lewis Cine, who managed only 10 defensive snaps as a safety over two injury-filled seasons before the Vikings waived him this summer. He is now working on converting to linebacker as a member of the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad.
Both Flores and coach Kevin O’Connell have been quick to defend Turner’s development. O’Connell, whose draft-day facial reaction to Turner’s selection quickly became a social media meme, projected last month that he would one day be an “absolute monster.” Flores compared Turner to Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, a first-round pick in 2011 who did not become a starter until his third season.
“I’ve heard the talk about the snap counts,” Flores said, “and I think it’s just hard to make a determination on a player and what he is based on seven games, especially early in his career. I think Dallas is going to be just fine. Everybody kind of wants everything right now. He does too.”
Turner, of course, is not simply a first-round draft pick. Although it’s no fault of his own, his career will always be viewed in the full context of his arrival. The Vikings used a total of seven draft picks in a series of moves to select him at No. 17, including one in the first round, two in the second and one in the third. In the raw terms of draft capital, the Vikings used the equivalent of two mid-first-round picks to acquire him, according to ESPN Analytics. Put another way by ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, the value of what it took to draft Turner was roughly the same as the No. 1 overall pick.
At those prices, it’s not unfair to expect both instant and long-term impact.
Turner’s most notable plays have been a Week 1 sack of Giants quarterback Daniel Jones and a fourth-down stop of New York Jets running back Braelon Allen in Week 5. But of all the people who have commented on his season, Turner seems the least concerned.
“The one thing that I kind of wanted to really stand on going into my rookie year,” he said, “is to just really be a sponge and learn the most that you possibly can as fast as you can, so the wheels get rolling faster.
“So basically just coming into my rookie year, just knowing the room I was coming into with the defense, just [learn from] all the great minds in the building and stuff like that. I knew I had a very, very big opportunity to be a sponge. Just soak up all the information I can and just make it to my own way.”
He began making that way in Week 9, but the Vikings are in no hurry to accelerate his path.