The first padded practice of Vikings training camp offered a small but telling image of Dallas Turner’s new reality.
Working from the right edge against the second offense, Turner got upfield quickly, played with enough power to prevent Zavier Scott from turning the corner and helped force what appeared to be a loss of at least three yards. Ivan Pace Jr. arrived to help finish the play, but Turner had already done the important work.
It was one August rep. It also looked like the type of play Minnesota needs from Turner much more often in 2026.
Jonathan Greenard is gone, traded to Philadelphia during the offseason. Turner is no longer the gifted young edge rusher developing behind 2024 Pro Bowlers Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel. He is now a central part of the Vikings’ defensive plan, a player expected to rush the passer, hold up against the run and help set the tone for a front that has become younger around him.
The opportunity has arrived. The harder part is turning it into production every week.
The production was already moving in the right direction
Turner’s second season provided a convincing foundation for more responsibility. He appeared in all 17 games, made 10 starts and finished with eight sacks, 66 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles.
His growth was especially visible late in the season. Turner recorded 6.5 of his eight sacks over the final eight games, the sort of finish that suggested his physical traits were beginning to translate into more consistent disruption.
The underlying numbers pointed in the same direction. According to Pro Football Focus, Turner recorded 42 pressures, a 12.0 percent pass-rush win rate and a 70.2 pass-rush grade in 2025. His overall PFF grade rose from 64.1 as a rookie to 65.5 last season.
Those figures do not prove Turner has become a finished product. They do explain why the Vikings were willing to create a clearer runway for him.
Greenard’s departure was a financial decision, but it also changed the hierarchy of the outside linebacker room. Turner had spent his first two seasons sharing snaps with two accomplished veterans. Now, he and Van Ginkel are the established players at the position.
Turner’s role often included containment responsibilities and other assignments intended to make the overall rush work, rather than simply give him a direct path to the quarterback. Those snaps can be vital against mobile quarterbacks, but they do not always create the opportunities that lead to pressure totals or sacks.
That distinction matters in evaluating what comes next. Turner’s job will not be to replicate Greenard snap for snap. It will be to handle a larger role while showing he can win when the Vikings give him more true one-on-one rush opportunities.
More than a pass rusher
Turner understands that the next step cannot be measured only by sacks.
Asked in camp what he is trying to add entering his third season, Turner gave an answer that went beyond the obvious.
“Just overall, elevating all aspects,” he said. “From the run to the pass, to just between-the-whistle snaps and technical things like that.”
The Vikings need that mindset. Flores has repeatedly emphasized physicality as the foundation of his defense, and he put the responsibility directly on the front.
“We want to be a physical team,” Flores said before the pads came on. “We want to be a physical defensive unit. It always starts up front.”
That includes the edges.
Turner’s first padded-practice highlight came against the run, not on a rush that ended with the quarterback on the ground. It was still significant. Minnesota’s defense asks its outside linebackers to do far more than chase sacks. They must set firm edges, keep the football inside for pursuit players and remain disciplined when offenses use motion, play action and quarterback movement to create hesitation.
Turner described that responsibility in team terms.
“Setting the edge, building the wall so the dudes running to the ball on the back end could get there and make a play,” he said. “Just being selfless in this defense.”
That is the player Minnesota needs. They need him to become a dependable every-down defender whose athleticism forces offenses to account for him.
A mentor’s message, and a new leadership role
Greenard did not leave Turner without guidance.
In May, Greenard told Chris Long’s Green Light podcast that he planned to remain in Turner’s ear, much as he continued mentoring Will Anderson Jr. after leaving Houston. Greenard knows the path. He played alongside Anderson when the Texans selected the Alabama pass rusher third overall in 2023, then watched him become one of the NFL’s premier edge defenders.
Greenard believes Turner has the talent for a similar rise.
“When he’s on and he’s dialed in on the game plan, the kid is a bottle of explosion,” Greenard expressed. “The guy is literally a 4.4 guy, and he’s only just breaking the surface of how he’s gonna be in this league.”
Then Greenard delivered the message that now hangs over Turner’s season.
“It’s time now,” he said. “This is your time, this is your team. You need to go ahead and make that happen.”
That does not mean Turner must become the loudest voice in the room. Van Ginkel is one of the veterans who can carry that burden. But it does mean Turner must take ownership of a greater share of the group’s standard.
Van Ginkel has seen that approach from Turner.
“I think Dallas is attacking it the right way,” Van Ginkel said. “He’s taken that leadership role. He knows he’s the next man up, and he’s learned a lot from JG.”
Turner also praised defensive line coach Ryan Nielson for the way he has directed a young group.
“I love Coach Nielson,” Turner commented. “I feel like he came in, we have a young group, he kind of leading the group in the right direction, being consistent every single day with our approach in practice, walkthroughs and even in meetings.”
The words are encouraging. The test is whether that daily consistency becomes visible on Sundays.
The depth chart makes Turner’s growth essential
Minnesota has options behind Turner and Van Ginkel, but most remain projections.
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins has received steady praise and is moving between edge, 3-technique and 5-technique roles. Rookie Jake Golday has taken snaps on the edge in addition to linebacker. Bo Richter, Chaz Chambliss and Tyler Batty are also competing for opportunities.
Flores likes the group’s versatility and hunger, but he was clear that the evaluation is still ongoing.
“We sit here and talk about Dallas and Gink. I think we know those two,” Flores said. “We’ve got guys, and they’re all hungry to learn, hungry to improve. We’ll see how that plays out.”
That is why Turner’s development carries such weight. If he becomes a consistently disruptive starter, Minnesota can use its remaining edge players in specialized roles and let Flores build the unpredictable fronts that have become a hallmark of his defense. If Turner remains too dependent on flashes, the Vikings will be asking an inexperienced group to cover too much.
Turner has the burst to threaten tackles with speed and has made progress converting that speed into power. To take a genuine leap, he will need a more reliable set of counters when tackles are able to withstand his first move. The next phase of his development is less about proving he is an elite athlete and more about making the details of his rush plan as consistent as the tools.
That is a normal demand for a 23-year-old edge rusher. It is also the difference between a promising player and the centerpiece of a pass rush.
The chance is here
Turner does not have to carry the defense by himself. Minnesota still has Van Ginkel, a proven supporting cast at linebacker and a defensive front that features established contributors such as Jalen Redmond alongside talented young players.
But the Vikings made a bet when they moved Greenard. They are betting Turner’s late-season surge was not a hot streak, but the beginning of a larger ascent.
The first padded practice did not prove that belief correct. It did provide an early glimpse of the version of Turner Minnesota wants to see: explosive off the edge, strong enough to control the run and playing with the discipline to let the rest of the defense rally to the football.
The Vikings are not waiting for Turner’s opportunity anymore.
It is already here.
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