The Minnesota Vikings held onto their pair of first round picks this season. While they didn’t make them at the designated spots, both J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner stepped onto the stage wearing purple . The former is out for the year , and the latter is still finding his way .
Dallas Turner is a slow burn for the Minnesota Vikings
The focal point of the Minnesota Vikings draft in April was to acquire a quarterback. They needed a succession plan after the departure of Kirk Cousins. Sam Darnold was always expected to start, but J.J. McCarthy’s season-ending injury cemented that. The addition of Dallas Turner was a huge get as well , but he hasn’t made massive waves through the first five weeks.
Turner has already recorded his first NFL sack , but the rest of his production leaves plenty to be desired. The Athletic’s Alec Lewis believes that is, in part, by design.
“Before the season, defensive coordinator Brian Flores was clear: He would ride the hot hand with the pass rush. Edge rusher Patrick Jones II had arrived at training camp in exceptional condition, and Jihad Ward had already situated himself as one of the defense’s vocal leaders. Minnesota would not hand a full-time job to Turner simply because he was a first-round pick… The point is that Turner has not played enough for any grand evaluation, and he hasn’t played because the folks in front of him have been so effective that the Vikings have had no reason to replace them.”
Alec Lewis on Dallas Turners development (The Athletic)
Only Jonah Eliss has more sacks to this point (1.5) than Turner amongst rookie edge rushers. The pressure rates generated by Jared Verse (21.5%) and Chop Robinson (13.3%) make Turners 7.0% look paltry however. As Lewis points out however, it’s been a small sample on a disjointed one at that, for Turner.
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Vikings get benefit by allowing Dallas Turner to come along slowly
It would be a great thing if Dallas Turner immediately looked like a Defensive Player of the Year candidate. For that to happen though, the Vikings free agents and veterans all needed to flop. Andrew Van Ginkel has been amazing, and Jonathan Greenard has done his job as well . There’s no reason to force Turner to do the heavy lifting at this point.
Similarly to McCarthy, Turner being able to develop at his own pace is beneficial. He is watching high-quality play in front of him, and looking to replicate it when he gets his chance. Brian Flores has the Minnesota defense playing at an incredibly high level , and Turner can factor in when the time is right.
Related: 4 Minnesota Vikings Stats That Help Make Sense of Undefeated Start
As the season goes on, there could be attrition in front of Turner. The more he prepares now, the better he will contribute when his number is called upon. Nothing about the pick looks bad at this point, even if the numbers aren’t gaudy.
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