The Minnesota Vikings obviously had a vision for Dallas Turner during Day 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft. You don’t trade the haul of picks that general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah did unless you’re adding a potential franchise cornerstone to your roster.
We’re now officially in Year 2 of Turner’s Vikings tenure, and the former Alabama superstar remains a frustrating mystery fans are eager to solve.
It’s been an up-and-down start to 2025 for Turner, who’s expected to have a more prominent role in Brian Flores’ defense this year. He was praised by both Flores and head coach Kevin O’Connell for his work in the offseason, and entered training camp with some breakout year pending buzz.
We didn’t see signs of that during the preseason, though. It was a small sample size (just nine total snaps in the Houston game), but what we saw from Turner on the field was reminiscent of his rookie season — unimpactful.
Vikings leadership continues to face the same question on Turner. Unfortunately, Monday night’s thriller against the Chicago Bears failed to reveal anything close to an answer.
What plan do the Minnesota Vikings have for Dallas Turner in 2025 and beyond?
Defensive lineman Javon Hargrave introduced himself to Vikings fans with a monster debut. Per Pro Football Focus, the veteran registered seven QB pressures to go with two sacks — and one of them was seismic in the fourth quarter as the Vikings mounted their furious comeback.
Turner didn’t have a bad game by any means. There were no penalties, missed tackles, or obvious blown assignments. But those memorable, impact plays you expect from a first-round edge rusher of his pedigree? Those plays continue to be MIA on Turner’s resume.
The 22-year-old played 29 snaps on Monday night, according to PFF, his most since Week 15 of 2024 (also against Chicago). And while some positive strides were evident in run defense — a major area of concern for any undersized edge defender — Turner was on the sideline for large stretches of the second half, especially in crunch time.
He wound up with three total tackles (one solo) and two pressures on 20 pass-rush snaps. On multiple occasions, he was neutralized by tight end Cole Kmet.
In Turner’s defense, he’s playing behind a pair of All-Pro-caliber edge defenders in Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel.
He’ll get more work this season with Pat Jones II now in Carolina and Gabriel Murphy surprisingly stashed on the practice squad, but the Vikings are obviously at their best with Greenard on the right end and Van Ginikel on the left.
As for that breakout season from Turner we’ve all been promised? It's only one game, but it doesn’t feel imminent. He clearly remains a work in progress, and that’s not exactly what fans expected when their team essentially traded three 2025 draft picks (plus more) to bring him to Minnesota.