Vikings make second trade-up in first-round to land impact pass-rusher
Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made his second splash of Thursday night has he grabbed Alabama's Dallas Turner with the 17th overall pick. Along with new quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings saw their two biggest needs solved in one night. The Vikings only traded the 22nd and 167th overall picks to move up five […]
Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made his second splash of Thursday night has he grabbed Alabama's Dallas Turner with the 17th overall pick. Along with new quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings saw their two biggest needs solved in one night.
The Vikings only traded the 22nd and 167th overall picks to move up five spots. This deal came on the heels of their pre-draft trade with the Houston Texans. Minnesota landed the No. 22 and No. 232 picks from Houston for No. 42, No. 188, and a 2025 second-round selection.
Turner is a good value here compared to where he was once mocked. He was regarded as a potentially elite defender before the 2023 season, but never fully married his raw talent to production. His best ability is the fluidity to drop into coverage, compete in the run game, and clean up sacks.
Lining up across from Jonathan Greenard will help him tally sacks, and defensive coordinator Brian Flores can get the most out of Turner. As Nick Saban showed at Alabama, Turner is best utilized on multiple fronts. But Turner's failure to dominate is concerning, given his movement ability.
His best days may come with a more focused game plan to get him into the backfield. Alabama had more to worry about than getting Turner to rack up his stats. However, it's clear he's not another Will Anderson Jr.
Minnesota didn't have to sacrifice both first-rounders to land McCarthy, so Turner was a bonus in that light, given the expectation that they'd use all these picks on the quarterback.
The 6'3", 245-pounder totaled 22.5 sacks and 32.5 tackles for loss over three seasons. He posted fantastic athleticism scores at the combine, ranking as the 85th-best DE in terms of RAS in the last 37 years.
This was a good gamble for Minnesota at a reasonable price. Moving up with Jacksonville for the cost of a Day 3 pick was a no-brainer move. The Jaguars should be embarrassed to have given up the pick for so little.
