Dallas Turner Might Be a Problem This Season…

The Minnesota Vikings have kicked off training camp and are all systems go as they track towards the regular season. We know when we’ll see new quarterback J.J. McCarthy during the exhibition slate. We know that the entire roster will get an additional challenge during joint practices with the New England Patriots.

What we don’t know is how the Minnesota Vikings will look after a 14-win campaign and the departure of quarterback Sam Darnold. The roster is set to win now, and Brian Flores’ defensive front looks like an absolute force.

Although he’s not currently a starter amongst that group, Dallas Turner appears primed to live up to his first round pick billing. If he’s going to break out this year, it would be hard not to notice, and he’s already turning heads in Eagan.

Minnesota Vikings ready for Dallas Turner breakout

Last season the Minnesota Vikings jumped back into the first round of the NFL Draft in order to land Dallas Turner. The cost was substantial and he only played a rotational role last season as a rookie. ESPN’s Kevin Siefert is already liking what he has seen from the Alabama product during training camp in year two.

“One of the pleasant surprises of the Minnesota Vikings early part of training camp has been linebacker Dallas Turner, who was the second of their two first round picks in 2024. He didn’t play a lot as a rookie. He had two Pro Bowlers in Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel ahead of him on the depth chart. The question coming into camp was how are they going to get Dallas Turner on the field more with those two guys also back with the team? The answer has been pretty simple. The Vikings have been happy to have all three of them on the field together when the first-team defense is on the field.

First part of full pads practice, first-defense against first-offense, Dallas Turner had a sack and also tipped a pass that nearly led to a pick-six. Really having a lot of flash plays so far from what we’re seeing from Dallas Turner. A lot of times when coaches and players are noticing him, he keeps playing like this it’s not going to be a question of when he gets on the field, or how much he gets on the field, but how much of an impact he’s actually making.”

Kevin Seifert – ESPN

As Seifert alluded to, Turner’s impact was minimal in year one. Although he played in 16 games, he had just three sacks and 20 total tackles. Turner racked up 300 defensive snaps, but that was just 28% of the total. He spent 53% of the special teams plays on the field.

Dallas Turner ghost move. Sells power and bends the edge. pic.twitter.com/8GeUTsGpMe

— Best Blitz (@BestBlitzFilmz) July 29, 2025

If the Vikings are going to get more from Turner in year two, their defense could be among the best in the league. There are still question marks at the cornerback position, but a pass rush including Turner, Greenard, and Van Ginkel all producing seems unfair.

Turner led the SEC in sacks as a junior with 10. He has long been a menace for opposing quarterbacks, and there’s a reason the Minnesota Vikings prioritized a jump up in the draft to go get him.

What does a good year from Dallas Turner look like for the MN Vikings?

Ultimately it will be up to Brian Flores when it comes to positioning his edge rushers. The Vikings finally have a strong interior defensive line with the additions of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. They could get crazy and go grab Christian Wilkins too.

Finding a way to deploy Turner, Greenard, and Van Ginkel at a substantial clip is probably something Flores has happy thoughts about. That can’t be a good feeling to be under center looking at that trio bearing down on you.

Related: Brian Flores Interested in Newly Available Star Free Agent

Turner doesn’t need to generate the 12 sacks Greenard had last year, or the 11.5 sacks Van Ginkel posted. He doesn’t need to focus on making the Pro Bowl either. If Turner can up his sack total to something above five, and be on the field for more than 50% of the defensive snaps, that seems like positive development.

This is a big year for the young linebacker. How much of an impact he makes might be limitless with the opportunity expected to grow.