There are a number of new players taking part in Minnesota Vikings OTAs this year as the team continues to transition itself further away from the era before Kevin O'Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah were hired.
This year, the Vikings' pass-rushing group looks almost completely different than it did in 2023. Gone is Danielle Hunter, and in an effort to replace his impressive production, Minnesota signed Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel in free agency and selected former Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner in the first round of last month's NFL Draft.
When it comes to Turner, he's barely been a member of the Vikings for a month, but he's already made a lasting impression on some of the team's veteran players. Minnesota left tackle Christian Darrisaw is among those who have been impressed with the rookie pass rusher this spring, and he delivered an all-time sound byte on Wednesday to prove it.
Christian Darrisaw says Dallas Turner is "going to be special" for the Minnesota Vikings
As the Vikings held one of their OTA practice sessions on Wednesday at the TCO Performance Center, Darrisaw took some time to answer questions from a few of the local Twin Cities reporters.
When asked to describe some of what he's seen from Turner so far out on the field, Minnesota's starting left tackle delivered what might turn out to be one of greatest sound bytes in franchise history.
" has that burst. He's quick. He had a spin move, maybe last week, that was quicker than . I was like, 'Damn, this guy's going to be special.'
...I saw him put on somebody else. I was like, 'holy f*ck.' It was one of those. Yeah, for sure. It was definitely a quick one."
It's one thing for Turner to be praised by coaches and front-office members, but it's definitely intriguing for the rookie to get this kind of endorsement from a player of Darrisaw's caliber.
Turner has kind have been able to fly a bit under the radar with a lot of the attention being on Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy since the end of the NFL Draft in April. But, like McCarthy, the former Alabama pass rusher was also drafted in the first round, and it seems like it might not take him very long to prove why when Minnesota's 2024 season gets underway in September.