Dallas Turner is Providing Reasons to Get Our Hopes Up Again

The good news is coming out about Vikings’ third-year edge rusher Dallas Turner. 

Expectations of the former Alabama Crimson Tide defensive weapon are quite high. Sure, that comes with the territory when we’re talking about first-round selections, but there’s some other context we must add in as well to get the stakes of Turner’s 2026 across.

Not only was Dallas Turner a first-rounder, but the Vikings also sent a hefty trade package to the Jacksonville Jaguars in order to trade up and have the opportunity to select him. Even though he was the 17th-overall selection, he was only the third defender taken off the board. The first fourteen selections of the 2024 NFL Draft were offensive players, including the Vikings’ 10th-overall selection of J.J. McCarthy.

Perhaps the most pressure comes from the Vikings’ “double-down” on Turner earlier this offseason. When Minnesota traded away Jonathan Greenard during Day 2 of the draft in April, they pushed their chips all the way in on Dallas Turner. Now, their faith is in him, and he is looking to prove their investment as a good one.

Fortunately, we got some good news about Dallas Turner during Wednesday’s joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens.

Dallas Turner Has Himself a Wednesday

As per usual, the great Tyler Forness provided us with a recap of the practice sessions, and he had great things to say about Dallas Turner.

Forness correctly pointed out that joint practices are a “good litmus test” for where Dallas Turner is at right now, and per Forness, Turner passed that test “with flying colors.” This is explained with a few mentions of Turner’s doings during practice on Wednesday, including a run play in which he blew up early in the day, as well as a sack that he statically split with Levi Drake Rodriguez. Forness mentioned that “he’s explosive and holding up well at the point of attack, proving that he’s the guy they drafted him to be.”

Well, that’s pretty great to hear. It’s not like Dallas Turner has been a complete let-down since he was drafted two years ago, but we just haven’t really been able to see who he is yet. He has undeniably shown flashes when he’s been on the field, and even tallied 8.5 sacks when he saw increased action last season. Tyler Forness concluded his words on Dallas Turner by detailing that he was getting “massive” pressure on Lamar Jackson during two-minute drills. The final words on Turner? “He’s primed to be a monster.”

A Still-Shaky EDGE Room Behind the Top Two Fellas

The Vikings will need big production out of their starting edge duo, as the room behind Turner and Van Ginkel is quite thin. I was once dreaming of a Jadeveon Clowney signing, but Minnesota was apparently never in on him, and he reunited with the Houston Texans.

Some names remain out there like Kyle Van Noy or Joey Bosa. I still believe the team is likely to sign a free agent rusher, as we still have yet to see a lot to hang our hats on from the edge-rushing unit past the top two stars. Things could change, but the regular season kicks off in around three weeks now: it’s time to start getting this roster finalized.