Earlier this year, Minnesota Vikings starting left tackle Christian Darrisaw shared how he was blown away by the performance of rookie edge rusher Dallas Turner during the team's OTAs. Well, add right tackle Brian O'Neill to the list of Vikings offensive linemen who have been very impressed by what they've seen from Turner so far.
During episode one of the "Vikings Viewpoint" video series on Vikings.com, O'Neill shared how Turner has already lived up to the hype that typically surrounds players who spent their college careers at Alabama.
"There's two schools that guys have come in that : Alabama and Michigan. Every guy I've played with or been around that went to Alabama or Michigan comes in as a dawg. Like, ready to go.
We just got an edge rusher from Alabama in the first round, and so far, so dawg."
Will Dallas Turner be the best Minnesota Vikings rookie during the 2024 season?
During this year's NFL Draft, Minnesota was able to add seven talented prospects to its 2024 roster, including Turner. Given that he was drafted by the Vikings in the first round, the odds seem pretty high that he will be able to make a solid impact for the team in his rookie season.
During his final year at Alabama, Minnesota's new edge rusher accumulated 53 tackles (14.5 for a loss), 55 pressures, and 11 sacks, according to data from PFF and Sports-Reference.com. In his last three seasons at the school, Turner generated a total of 117 pressures and 25 sacks.
Expectations are already high for the young pass rusher as he's currently the favorite to win the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year award during the 2024 campaign, according to the latest odds from the DraftKings Sportsbook.
With fellow Vikings 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy expected to begin the season on the sidelines as one of the team's backup quarterbacks, most of the rookie excitement during the first few games on Minnesota's schedule will likely surround Turner.
If we're going by the comments from O'Neill and Darrisaw, Vikings fans are definitely going to like what they see from the rookie edge rusher when makes his regular-season debut for the team on September 8th against the New York Giants.