4 Vikings Defenders Who Could Earn Bigger Role During Training Camp

The Minnesota Vikings don’t kick off their preseason schedule until August 9th when the Houston Texans come to town. They do start training camp on Saturday July 26th however, and preparations for a big season will be underway.

Plenty of emphasis will be placed upon how key offensive players like quarterback J.J. McCarthy and left tackle Christian Darrisaw look. Both are returning from injury and are key pieces if Kevin O’Connell’s team is going to compete.

Brian Flores is back to coach the defense though, and his unit can take another step forward. The front seven has been lauded as the best in the business, but there is opportunity for other names to earn some additional playing time.

Dallas Turner (22 years old) – Oustide Linebacker

The biggest and most prominent name on this list is 2024 first round pick Dallas Turner. Minnesota traded back up into the first round to grab the Alabama edge rusher. He played in 16 games for Brian Flores as a rookie, but he largely got lost in an otherwise impressive edge rushing rotation.

It’s unlikely that Turner is going to unseat either Jonathan Greenard (12.0 sacks) or Andrew Van Ginkel (11.5 sacks) this season. What he must do is take the next step forward and be an infinitely larger part of the defense.

Dallas Turner #Skol big year 2 otw pic.twitter.com/kqLt3NOAVc

— PassRushDiary🦅 (@PassRushDiary) July 15, 2025

Patrick Jones II had the third-most sacks for Minnesota last season with seven. He departed in free agency and Turner should be eyeing an opportunity to step up. Jones recorded 459 defensive snaps last season (46%) while Turner had just 300 (28%). There’s no reason he can’t convert more of his special teams usage into regular defensive rotations.

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There were plenty of points during his rookie campaign that questions arose regarding Turner being a bust. It was premature for that, but he’ll have to put together a strong camp if he wants to start separating in year two.

Dwight McGlothern (23 years old) – Cornerback

If there’s still a position to be weary of on the Minnesota Vikings roster it’s the cornerback position. Byron Murphy Jr. is back and Isaiah Rodgers is an upside play to replace Stephon Gilmore. Shaq Griffin is gone though, and there wasn’t an external replacement brought in.

The Vikings do get a healthy Mekhi Blackmon back after his season ending knee injury last year. It’s McGlothern though that could look to parlay his intriguing year one into more playing time.

McGlothern was a training camp darling after going undrafted out of Arkansas last year. Ultimately it led to action in just five games and he tallied only 19 defensive snaps. At 6’2″ 185 pounds, McGlothern has ideal size for the position. If he can harness the movements, coverages, and overall scheme there may be something special developing.

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Minnesota brought in veteran Jeff Okudah as a depth addition as well. He has failed to live up to his former third overall pick pedigree in three different stops now. If McGlothern wants to make a name for himself, there’s a guy to leapfrog.

Bo Richter (24 years old) – Outside Linebacker

Someone has to account for the snaps that are vacated by the Patrick Jones II departure. Ideally that would be Dallas Turner, but you can bet that Bo Richter isn’t going to hand it over easily.

Richter went undrafted out of Air Force last season but appeared in 14 games for the Minnesota Vikings. He made one start and recorded a fumble recovery. Although he didn’t grab a sack he had eight total tackles on just 29 defensive snaps.

Skor North’s Phil Mackey spoke high praise of both Richter and fellow undrafted talent Gabriel Murphy. He doesn’t see either of these two talents as just fun stories anymore.

“I think either Bo Richter or Gabe Murphy will finish above Dallas Turner, Andrew Van Ginkel, or Jonathan Greenard in edge rusher sacks for the Vikings this year. I legitimately think that one of these guys is going to break, it’s kind of a battle between the two of them for that fourth edge rusher spot…Based on their college pedigree, based on the things they showed their first camp a year ago, and based on the opening behind those three guys. Patrick Jones feasted. Patrick Jones had a bunch of sacks playing off of the other edge rushers. That spot is open for business and I think Bo Richter and Gabe Murphy are going to ascend beyond the Mr. Mankato watch list discussion and be meaningful, impactful players for the actual regular season defense.”

Phil Mackey – Skor North

Similar to McGlothern, Richter was a camp and preseason darling last season. He and fellow undrafted talent Murphy both oozed with tools that look like they can be developed. It will be interesting to see how the pairing comes out in year two, and how much of a step forward they have taken.

Taki Taimani (25 years old) – Nose Tackle

There has been nothing more noticeable on defense for the Vikings in recent seasons than their inability to control the interior line. That was addressed this offseason with the additions of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. Harrison Phillips is also back to assume the nose tackle spot.

If there’s a guy that can try to work into that rotation though, or be there in case of injury, it’s Taki Taimani. He appeared in just seven games as a rookie and recorded only 70 defensive snaps. He spent the final ten games of the season on injured reserve. Each of the new additions come with injury concerns, and someone has to be ready.

Taimani is with the MN Vikings on a three-year deal and he is coming into camp with a clean bill of health. He has an uphill battle to climb with the talent in front of him, but he should separate from draft pick Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins or veteran Jalen Redmond.

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The Vikings having a stout defensive front for the first time in what seems like forever is a great thing. They still need people to step up in rotation and reserve spots.