During draft weekend, when NFL Network analyst Charles Davis made brief mention of someone in the frame of the Minnesota Vikings' defense, head coach Kevin O'Connell had this to say.
"I hope people haven’t forgotten about Dallas Turner, I'm glad you mentioned him. [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.”
With Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard both playing at a Pro Bowl level, and the departed Patrick Jones playing a notable role in the Vikings' edge rusher mix, there just wasn't much room for Turner to make a big impact as a rookie last season. With Jones gone in free agency, opportunity will knock for the second-year man after the Vikings made a big move up in the 2024 draft to get him.
Tuesday's news that the Vikings agreed to a one-year contract extension with Van Ginkel has fueled some questions about where Turner stands. Some people are even ready to say the decision to extend Van Ginkel is an admission that the move to trade up for Turner was a mistake.
Minnesota Vikings leadership is completely aligned on Dallas Turner
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was on KFAN radio with Paul Allen on Wednesday. Allen mentioned the importance of the deal to keep Van Ginkel around, and Adofo-Mensah extended to mention the edge rusher group as a whole before specifically mentioning Turner.
"Dallas, we think, is going to play incredibly well this year. And part of the reason when we drafted Dallas is we already had Van Ginkel and Greenard, and we need to be able to play the three of them together, just because their versatility, then [Van Ginkel's] ability to play linebacker.
Dallas has the mental ability to play linebacker, and did some of that at Alabama, so the ability to get them three on the field at the same time, but also that's an edge group where you want them firing off the ball. You don't want them necessarily playing high into the 90 percent play time. So there's, there's just going to be space in a rotation."
Van Ginkel and Greenard each played more than 900 snaps during the regular season last year, with Jones playing 459 snaps in 15 games.
Van Ginkel's versatility is notable, which is why it's safe to assume defensive coordinator Brian Flores advocated for a reunion from their days with the Miami Dolphins. As Adofo-Mensah said, Turner saw some snaps as an off-ball linebacker in college at Alabama.
Time will tell if Turner takes the increased opportunity he has in front of him and shows why the Vikings coveted him. But his general manager and head coach are in complete alignment about him getting that opportunity, with matching faith that he'll get it done in Year 2.
