Dallas Turner moves into a vital role for the Vikings, fulfilling their vision from the 2024 draft

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The video crew the Minnesota Vikings had in their draft room for behind-the-scenes content captured a memorable reaction from coach Kevin O'Connell in 2024 , when he widened his eyes and spun around in his chair upon being pleasantly surprised that a trade had been made to move up six spots in the first round for Dallas Turner.

Turner's performance in training camp this summer after a strong finish last season has underscored why O'Connell was so happy to get him. The Vikings have a big role waiting for the third-year edge rusher, and they're eager to watch him run with it.

“He has total ownership of the defense now,” O'Connell said this week. “We're starting to see the refinement of skills and the different repertoire of moves and how he packages all that together over the course of a lot of snaps. It’s been really cool to see, because we know how athletically gifted he is.”

The 6-foot-3 Turner, who's been listed at 247 pounds since the Vikings took the Miami-area native with the 17th overall pick out of Alabama, had his teammates on defense roaring with approval last week during joint practices with the Baltimore Ravens. Turner frequently beat blocks by two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Ronnie Stanley to reach the quarterback for what likely would've been sacks in a game.

“He’s not second-guessing stuff,” said Andrew Van Ginkel, the edge rusher on the opposite side. "He’s just exploding off the ball.”

Both Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard were Pro Bowl picks in 2024, leaving little reason for the Vikings to force Turner into significant playing time, and when he was on the field the predictable rookie learning curve was apparent. Then Van Ginkel and Greenard each missed five games to injuries last season, quickly elevating Turner's importance to the defense. Playing Greenard's spot late in the season as more of a prototypical pass rusher brought out the best in Turner more than when he filled in earlier for the jack-of-all-trades Van Ginkel.

“It was just more of whatever opportunity I could get based on my athletic blessings and stuff like that,” said Turner, who had 6½ sacks over the last eight games. “I had to have the mental capacity to be able to do both.”

Turner finished with 15 quarterback hits and four strip-sacks, the most by a player under 23 in an NFL season since 2017. When the Vikings traded Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles for current and future salary cap relief during the draft in April, they did so with full confidence that Turner was ready for full-time action.

“Just being mature about every detail about your business, it carries you a long way in your career,” Turner said. “I feel like it’s still growing. I feel like I’ll never meet my potential as an NFL player because my potential can be so high, but I'm not trying to be complacent. I will always try to find something to work on no matter how long I’m playing the game of football.”

Turner, who won't turn 24 until Feb. 2, has bulked up a bit this year without sacrificing any speed, as Vikings left tackle Christian Darrisaw can attest from their matchups during practice.

“He’s going to have a special year,” Darrisaw said.

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