The Vikings traded up in the first round for Dallas Turner last year, but his usage did not reflect the team’s apparent excitement about his talent.
Turner only played 300 defensive snaps as a rookie, notching three sacks and three tackles for loss across 16 games with a core role on special teams. He was blocked by the stellar play of the Vikings’ edge duo of Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, who combined for 23.5 sacks and 36 tackles for loss while both playing more than 80% of the team’s defensive snaps. Both Greenard and Van Ginkel earned Pro Bowl recognition and Defensive Player of the Year votes for their efforts, so their snap shares are unlikely go to down by much, if at all.
As a result, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores may have to get creative to get Turner on the field, which may include some time as an off-ball linebacker, according to Alec Lewis of The Athletic.
“Identifying where Turner is lining up – and how much he’s contributing from an off-the-ball starting point — is a major question worth examining in the coming months,” wrote Lewis after the Vikings wrapped their spring practices.
Turner’s 6-foot-3, 247-pound frame is undersized for an NFL edge defender, but he has excellent size for a linebacker with the requisite movement skills to work from an off-ball alignment. His bigger challenge will be adjusting to the visual and mental processing in the middle of the field after spending virtually all of his career as an edge defender. Turner’s athleticism can be used to attack downhill, but his discipline and vision in coverage and run fits will be key.
It’s also important to note that teams like to experiment in spring practices, which are not necessarily indicative of what will happen in the season. Turner’s off-ball activities could be a step towards a hybrid role in 2025, or it could be an effort to give him some experience at a new position so he can line up there in case of emergency.
They massively overpaid to move up to draft him, so of course the front office is praising this guy to The Athletic reporter behind the scenes. He didn’t show much last year, we’ll see.
Learn ball
BTW – What did you think of the Timberpuppies Draft??
How can someone determine what overpaying was when a player hasn’t played yet. I think its logical to say “to be determined.”
Unfortunately, so many people make snap decisions and judgements without facts to support what they say.
You can’t. Those people are uneducated and don’t know ball
He spent a small portion of his time lining up off-ball last year too and was seen as someone who could drop into coverage entering the draft too. It’s not like this is about making him a full-time off-ball guy. Flores loves using guys in multiple ways to create unpredictability.
3 sacks and 3 tackles for loss in a very limited role as a rookie actually isn’t bad at all.
had he been given more regular playing time he could have hit double digit sacks. He’s not the biggest dude but a good defensive co ordinator should be able to come up with plays to get the most out of his athletic abilities.
He also played his whole rookie year at 21.
And a pick
That’s what I was thinking. In 300 snaps for a rookie, those numbers aren’t worrisome to me. As Oof said above, Flores likes to be multiple in his looks (who doesn’t these days). Using Turner more at off-ball will get him on the field, but he’s still a pass rusher. They’re just putting him out there to give him opportunities to do that, and to give them more options on bringing a rush. Flores has been a heavy blitzer lately, so he’d be trading (probably) some coverage capability from a zone linebacker for extra blitzing potential from a true pass rusher.
Thing is, none of the Vikings primary EDGE players are that big, so moving them inside for certain plays is much harder than it would be for bigger guys. The other option is to put them back at linebacker, and rush them from there. Of course, that’s sort of what Van Ginkel did with Flores before, so it’s funny to see the first round pick kicked out of his more natural position for the veteran who’s done that exact thing.
I read this as the Vikings are so stacked at edge they’re considering moving a guy who has all the physical tools to play either position to a spot where he’ll see the field more often. He’ll still get his chances to shine but the biggest reason he saw so few snaps last year was because the guys ahead of him simply deserved to be on the field.
When you “PAY” to move up in the FIRST ROUND and that player IS NOT an immediate starter, THAT IS AN OVERPAY.
After the first season, when you have to jockey around your defense to find a spot for a player you moved up to draft in the first round the year before, THATS AN OVERPAY = In addition to poor decision making by those running the draft in which he was selected.
I suggest you look at all the players in the hall of fame who either didn’t play year one or played poorly, because I bet you’ll realize why most people who know football don’t call players busts and overpays after 1 year.