First-round selection Dallas Turner was a main cog for the Vikings’ defense in their Week 1 win over the Giants, where he saw 35 snaps. But in the past three games, he has seen 28 total snaps — while playing in four against the Lions on Sunday.
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell was asked about Turner during his weekly press conference on Monday. O’Connell suggested some of it has to do with the Vikings’ deep linebacking core of Andrew Van Ginkel, Jonathan Greenard, and others, and some of it is just growing through the defense.
“Yeah, he’s working through it,” O’Connell said. “He’s a young player in a defense where the roles and responsibilities sometimes in-game can adjust based on what we’re seeing. I think we’ve got a really deep outside linebacker room with Gink (Andrew Van Ginkel) and (Jonathan) Greenard, Pat Jones, and then Haddy (Jihad Ward) has got his role. We’re going to continue to see Dallas have an impact. It may be a growing thing as we go here, but trust me, I’ve got a ton of confidence in Dallas. He’s growing within a pretty high-level IQ defense.”
Fans who are concerned about Turner — shouldn’t. O’Connell couldn’t praise Turner enough during his press conference and feels like he will be a huge part of the defense as the season progresses.
“I think he’s an incredible fit in our defense, not only in the present but in the future as well,” he said. “He’s gonna be an absolute monster for us. But sometimes, the way the game flow goes, there might be — what personnel are they using and how do we wanna match that personnel, things like that. … I think DT’s growing every single day. I’m more excited about him now than I was even when we drafted him.”
