After an underwhelming rookie year with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024, Dallas Turner was recently one of several players from around the league who were picked to potentially put together breakout campaigns during the upcoming 2025 NFL season.
Earlier this week, NFL.com's Marc Ross shared a list of 10 second-year NFL players who could break out next season. Turner was among those selected, and Ross revealed why he thinks the young Vikings pass rusher could be a force on the field in 2025.
"Turner should wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks alongside Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard in Brian Flores' scheme.
NFL teams can never have too many pass rushers, and the Vikings clearly took that to heart when they plugged the middle of their D-line with free-agent signings Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen.
Expect Turner to benefit from all of these moves in Year 2 and make the "huge jump" head coach Kevin O'Connell has predicted."
Dallas Turner has a clearer path to success in year two with the Minnesota Vikings
It's fair to say that some were disappointed with Turner's production in 2024 during his first season with Minnesota. After the Vikings traded up to select him in the first round of last year's NFL Draft, some were hoping he would make an immediate impact, but that's not what happened.
Turner did appear in 16 of Minnesota's 17 regular-season games in 2024, but he was only able to generate a total of 12 pressures and three sacks, according to data from PFF. To be fair, though, he only ranked fourth in pass-rushing snaps last year among Vikings edge rushers, so it's not like he had a ton of chances to make an impact.
In 2024, Turner was fourth in Minnesota's edge-rushing pecking order behind Patrick Jones II, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Jonathan Greenard. Well, Jones signed with the Carolina Panthers earlier this offseason, so there will now be plenty of pass-rushing opportunities behind Van Ginkel and Greenard to go around during the 2025 campaign.
Ross believes Turner will be able to make the most of a potential increase in snaps on the field next season and establish himself as one of the top young pass rushers in the NFL. Will this become a reality for the Vikings' 2024 first-round pick, or will his development continue to go slower than expected?