Vikings EDGE Dallas Turner receives well earned praise from NFL analyst, and we don’t talk about it enough
The development of Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Dallas Turner is one of the more impressive things in the last year.
After his rookie season in 2024, some were calling Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Dallas Turner a bust. It wasn’t necessarily fair to him, as the main criticism was playing just 310 snaps. Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel had career years, totaling a combined 24 sacks.
This past season, we saw a much-improved game from Turner. One of the biggest areas he grew was his baseline of play. That was mainly due to his improvement in his strength profile. Turner was more stout at the point of attack and improved as a pass rusher in many facets.
Dallas Turner’s explosiveness continues to stand out
One thing we don’t talk about enough with Turner is how explosive he is. Turner was one of the most athletic edge rushers coming out of the NFL Draft, especially with a 4.47 40-yard dash. Getting quick pressure is important, and ESPN’s Benjamin Solak highlighted how Turner’s get-off on the football was a big part of his 2025 breakout.
“We look at get-off, which is a NextGenStats measurement of how fast you get past the line of scrimmage as an edge rusher. Turner started firing off the ball a lot quicker. That first step really started to show up there after week three, and it translated into quick pressures. He had one quick pressure, which is a pressure in under 2.5 seconds in the first 10 weeks of the season. In the last eight weeks of the season, he had 10, that’s Turner’s calling card right now.”
Turner’s growth in that area is crucial, as we saw flashes of it in his rookie year, the biggest of which was on this ghost move against the Chicago Bears.
It isn’t just the quick pressures, either. Solak also highlighted what I mentioned earlier on: he improved as a baseline run defender.
“He can create quick pressures, but he also improved as a run defender over the course of the season, and there are nice rushes, wins with hand usage and with power, right? So he has the counter moves necessary to really round out into a highly effective pass rusher. Now, edge rushers can get hot for these like 8-10 week stretches, and so I don’t think the hay is in the barn that Turner’s like, you know, definitely a guy.”
Things are looking up for Turner, and he is starting to get more recognition for his impressive play.
