The Minnesota Vikings lost an elite pass rusher in Danielle Hunter last offseason and still figured out how to pressure opposing quarterbacks in all sorts of ways, so the notion of parting with rookie Dallas Turner shouldn’t be as scary one year later.
To be clear, no such move is imminent. However, the Vikings need to stack some draft capital after dealing multiple picks last spring to move up just a few cumulative spots in the first round to secure both Turner (No. 17) and quarterback J.J. McCarthy (No. 10). Ironically, both players are potential trade chips heading into the 2025 NFL season because of how well Minnesota did in free agency one year ago.
Sam Darnold led the team to 14 wins on 4,300 yards passing and 35 TDs, while pass rusher Jonathan Greenard put up 12 sacks and made the Pro Bowl and edge Andrew Van Ginkel tallied 11.5 sacks and earned second-team All-Pro honors.
The case for keeping Darnold and trading McCarthy, or keeping McCarthy and moving on from Darnold in one fashion or another, is a different discussion. However, Minnesota deciding to trade Turner wouldn’t necessarily be a huge blow depending on what came back in the deal.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell took a look at the Vikings’ options as a third-team facilitator in a blockbuster trade centered around defensive end Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns, who has asked out of his current situation but isn’t needed in the Vikings locker room — particularly when considering his cost could be as high as two first-round picks.
Vikings Hit Jackpot With Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel in Free Agency
Barnwell on Thursday, February 13, laid out a scenario in which the Vikings move Turner to the Browns and get back a big-time draft asset in return.
“While the Vikings won 14 games, they’re deep at edge rusher after signing Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel and trading up for Dallas Turner in the first round of the 2024 draft. It would be a surprise if they sacrificed more draft capital to go after Garrett,” Barnwell wrote. “The Browns might prefer to add a young edge rusher to replace Garrett in lieu of pure draft capital as part of a deal. … There was plenty of talent ahead of Turner on the edge, but the 22-year-old didn’t exactly force his way onto the field as a rookie.”
Turner finished the campaign with 12 QB pressures and 3 sacks on 302 snaps. Despite the Vikings drafting Turner as a pass-rush specialist and using him in that fashion, he was actually better against run plays the 103 times he faced them than he was against drop backs on 144 snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
Dallas Turner May Be More Valuable to Vikings if They Can Turn Him Into Draft Pick as Part of Myles Garrett Trade
None of that means Turner is a bad player or that it’s time to declare him a bust. What it does mean, though, is that if the Vikings can get off of him for a mid-to-high first-round pick or something early in the second round, it might be worth it.
Just a for instance, the Chicago Bears might be able to get in the game for Garrett for the price of the Nos. 10 and 39 picks this April. If the Vikings could get off Turner’s $16 million rookie contract in return for an early second-round pick as the third team involved in that trade and then draft defensive backs with the Nos. 24 and 39 selections, that might be more valuable than keeping Turner on as a rotational pass rusher.
The Vikings are excellent at creating pressure via the array of exotic blitz packages incorporated by defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who will be back for his third season in Minnesota in 2025. However, the entire starting secondary is comprised of players who will either be free agents in March sans extensions before then and the lone outlier in veteran safety Harrison Smith, who is a legitimate retirement risk.
If Greenard and Van Ginkel hadn’t been so good, Barnwell’s suggestion probably isn’t a viable option. Because they were, Turner now potentially represents an opportunity for the Vikings to get deeper on defense without losing overall productivity.
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