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When Dallas Turner Panic Arrives
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- When Dallas Turner Panic Arrives
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Many believe that Dallas Turner is moving toward a breakout.
After all, the 23-year-old edge rusher is moving into his third NFL season and has a clear runway to start. Moving off of Jonathan Greenard means losing a top option, creating a void that's going to be filled internally. Or, at least, that's the working theory. Seeing Turner fail to do so would mean that things are trending very poorly.
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Dallas Turner Needs a Breakout
Part of the problem with Turner has nothing to do with Turner. Rather, the issue flows from what it cost to get him since he arrived in the Twin Cities after expensive deals with the Texans and then the Jaguars.
Consider what was given up to eventually jump into the No. 17 selection to draft the Alabama defender:
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1st in 2024 (No. 23)
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2nd in 2024 (No. 42)
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2nd in 2025 (No. 56)
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3rd in 2025 (No. 88)
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4th in 2025 (No. 126)
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5th in 2024 (No. 167)
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6th in 2024 (No. 188)
Coming back to the Vikings after these two swaps were the No. 17 selection in 2024 and the No. 232 selection in 2024. That's a 1st and 7th, selections that got sunk into Dallas Turner and Levi Drake Rodriguez .
Dec 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Dallas Turner (15) celebrates after a play as Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) reacts in the second half at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Understood in just a basic sense, the Vikings traded away roughly a full draft class to be able to draft Turner and Rodriguez. Anything less than dominance at one of the sport's foremost positions will mean that this is a major Minnesota whiff.
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— READ MORE: The Vikings Pursued a Trade But Couldn't Find Any Takers — — READ MORE: The Odd Part of the Vikings' Progression into New Era —
Worse yet, there were some players available at that spot who are fantastic ball players. Edge rusher Jared Verse gets most of the attention since he's a phenomenal player who has already become one of the game's best. He's way ahead of Turner, though he is older.
Corner Quinyon Mitchell ended up going at No. 22. He, too, has become a remarkable NFL player, finishing at second in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting (losing to Verse) before securing a first-team All Pro honor as a sophomore.
— READ MORE: The Name to Circle in Vikings' GM Search — — READ MORE: Vikings Put Huge Down Payment on New Defender —
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Meanwhile, Dallas Turner has been good but far from great.
His rookie season involved being the EDGE5. Some of that is explainable since Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel had monstrous seasons. Being behind both of Patrick Jones and Jihad Ward is less encouraging, though.
Sep 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebackers Jonathan Greenard (58) and Dallas Turner (15) celebrate a sack during the first half against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images.
Consider what his stats have looked like over these past two seasons, at least on a basic level:
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2024: 16 Games (0 Starts), 20 Tackles, 3 Sacks, 3 TFLs, 1 INT, & 1 PD
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2025: 17 Games (10 Starts), 66 Tackles, 8 Sacks, 11 TFLs, 3 PDs, and 4 FFs
No doubt, Mr. Turner took a healthy step forward. What was a modest rookie year with flashes became a solid sophomore season. All well and good, so long as the cost of acquisition gets subtracted from the assessment.
Curious minds may like to know that PFF has been somewhat tepid in its assessment, assigning a 64.1 grade in 2024 before kicking over a 65.5 grade in 2025. Many people have justifiable critiques of the system over there, so take those grades for what they are: an opinion that Dallas Turner has offered pretty good football over these past two seasons.
Apr 25, 2024; Detroit, MI, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Dallas Turner poses after being selected by the Minnesota Vikings as the No. 17 pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports.
So, when does it become time to panic? Good question.
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At minimum, Dallas Turner needs to become a weekly starter. Dipping into free agency at some point in the coming weeks or months to sign someone for that job would be a major indictment on his development.
The other concerning possibility would be if Eric Wilson gets even more work at edge rusher. He stole away Ivan Pace 's starting spot last year. Will he snag another young fella's job in 2026? The chances appear very low, but most would have said something similar last year at this time about Mr. Wilson erupting as a front seven chess piece in 2025. Clearly, Wilson can't be underestimated.
Moreover, Jake Golday is a wild card. Seeing him eat into Turner's workload in a meaningful way will be good for the rookie but bad for the third-year talent.
Given the cost, Dallas Turner needs to surpass what Jonathan Greenard offered. Not just match, but improve upon. Anything less than elite is going to be a disappointment. Failing to at least be very good, though, early in 2026 will mean that people begin getting pretty antsy about that pick.
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Editor's Note: Information from Pro Football Reference , PFF , and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
