Tag: Dallas Turner

Are the Vikings projected to get any compensatory picks in the 2025 NFL Draft?

The Minnesota Vikings have only three picks in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft, but they could have compensatory picks coming their way.

The Minnesota Vikings did a lot in the 2024 NFL Draft to secure the future of their franchise and continue building a solid foundation. Namely, they drafted their presumed future franchise quarterback J.J. McCarthy, with the 10th pick in the first round.

But one pick in the first wasn’t enough for them, as they traded their second, third, and fourth-round picks in 2025 to come back into the first and draft edge rusher Dallas Turner.

Unfortunately for the Vikings, they didn’t see much return on either of those picks in 2024 — for very different reasons. McCarthy suffered a season-ending injury in the preseason, opening the door for Sam Darnold to have a career year in 2024.

On the other hand, Turner was healthy all year but struggled to see much playing time. To make matters worse for the Vikings, that trade left the team with just a first and two fifth-round picks in 2025 (also owing in part to the 2023 trade of Za’Darius Smith). But thankfully, some help might be on the way in the form of compensatory picks.

Every season, the NFL hands out compensatory picks in the upcoming NFL Draft for teams that lost significant players in the previous year’s free agency period. A complicated formula goes into calculating how many picks each team gets, and which rounds those picks will be in.

So, how many picks will Minnesota get, and which rounds will they be in?

According to the latest projection from Nick Korte of Over the Cap, the Vikings are expected to get just one compensatory pick, but it’s projected to be a third-round pick as compensation for the loss of quarterback Kirk Cousins to the Atlanta Falcons.

Getting a third-round pick back certainly helps to mitigate the team’s draft situation, but they are still strapped for picks and have a lot of holes on the roster to fill — particularly in the defensive backfield. However, the team does project to have a significant amount of salary cap space, so they figure to be big players in the free agent market this year, rather than the NFL Draft.

Bucs get much needed pass rush help in 2024 NFL re-draft

What if the Bucs never got Graham Barton in a universe where we could re-draft the 2024 class?

The 2024 NFL Draft gave the Bucs a young core on offense to build around while complimenting their veterans. Bucky Irving and Jalen McMillan were playmakers for Baker Mayfield and play-caller Liam Coen. However, first-round pick Graham Barton was an anchor in the middle of the offense line and is set to be there for the foreseeable future.

What if the Bucs never got Graham Barton in a universe where we could re-draft the 2024 class?

PFF explored that on their latest episode of NFL Stock Exchange, where hosts Trevor Sikkema and Connort Rogers re-drafted the entire first round. In it, Graham Barton never made it to the Bucs at pick 26 because they had the Dolphins draft him at 21.

Instead, the Bucs ended up with highly-touted edge rusher Dallas Turner, who originally went to the Vikings at pick 17. Turner didn’t see the field much in 2024, playing less than 400 snaps for the Vikings. Brian Flores was very conservative in his handling of Turner while leaning on veteran pass rushers on the roster.

For the Bucs, Dallas Turner would have been a welcome addition to the defense but perhaps that lesson can be applied to the team’s 2025 NFL Draft plans.

Vikings miss out on J.J. McCarthy, Dallas Turner in 2024 re-draft

With so many teams now out of the season, PFF decided to re-draft the 2024 NFL Draft, and the Vikings received two new selections. 

The Minnesota Vikings made a big play for the future when they traded up for both J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner in the 2024 NFL Draft. They took McCarthy to be the future at the quarterback position while Turner would be the face of the defense.

With so many teams now out of the season, PFF decided to re-draft the 2024 NFL Draft, and the Vikings received two new selections.

J.J. McCarthy would be drafted before the Vikings would have a chance. PFF had the Falcons selecting J.J. McCarthy as the sixth quarterback taken in the first eight picks. This meant the Vikings had to have a new face at number 10, and they gave them current Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell.

Mitchell would have been a welcome addition to the Vikings in 2024. Their secondary was consistently inconsistent, and Mitchell would have been a nice boost to the defense and made a difference.

Their second pick at 17 turned from Dallas Turner, who was available, into Chop Robinson who is on the Miami Dolphins currently.

Robinson is in contention for defensive rookie of the year this year and played well beyond anyone’s expectations. He accumulated seven sacks and a whopping 56 pressures on the quarterback. The Vikings would’ve welcomed that to go alongside the duo of Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel.

Both picks would have been nice in contributing to the 2024 Vikings, but their selections are of McCarthy and Turner, they are happy with them for ther future.

Did any Vikings draft picks make ESPN’s All-Rookie Team?

The rookie class for the Vikings was full of talent, but were any good enough to earn a spot on ESPN’s All-Rookie team?

The Minnesota Vikings rookie class in 2024 was very top-heavy as the team traded up twice in the first round. They traded up for J.J. McCarthy from pick 11 to 10 and then traded-up from 23 to 17 to acquire Dallas Turner.

The rookie class for the Vikings was full of talent, but were any good enough to earn a spot on ESPN’s All-Rookie team?

Despite having two first-round draft picks in McCarthy and Turner, as well as kicker Will Reichard, who played a significant role in the Vikings’ success in 2024, no rookies made the team. McCarthy was an obvious reason to miss the team as he missed his entire rookie year with a knee injury.

Meanwhile, Dallas Turner only played a limited role in Brian Flores’ defense in 2024. Turner only played 302 snaps and found mild success during those. Despite the slow rookie season, he is poised for a bigger role in 2025 with the team.

Vikings LB Andrew Van Ginkel was ‘banged up’ against the Colts in Week 9

The Vikings will have to keep an eye on their prized free agent signing.

Rookie Dallas Turner saw 26 snaps on Sunday in the win over the Colts, which was the most he’s seen since Week 1 against the Giants. It turns out that there is a reason why he had to play more.

When defensive coordinator Brian Flores took the podium on Tuesday to answer questions, he revealed Andrew Van Ginkel was “banged up”.

“I know that’s something that a lot of people have been talking about. I think you know, Gink (Van Ginkel) was a little bit not hurt, a minor thing that he was dealing with. So, you know, Dallas is the next guy in. He went in, you know, played well. Gink said he was ready to go back in, and we kept the same kind of grouping for the remainder of the game, and Dallas did a few good things as well. So again, that’s a deep room. There’s a lot of good players in there. And you know, by and large, we’ll go to the hot hand.”

It will be worth monitoring Van Ginkel’s health status as the week progresses.

Two Vikings rookies mentioned by The Athletic’s All-Rookie team

The Athletic recognized the work of General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Wednesday.

The 2024 NFL Draft has proven to have a larger impact than many expected following the injury to J.J. McCarthy. Despite losing their first-round quarterback, the draft class has produced several reliable players for the team.

The Athletic recognized the work of General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Wednesday.

Dane Brugler wrote up his selection for his midseason All-Rookie team, and two Vikings made the cut: first-round pick Dallas Turner and sixth-round pick Will Reichard. Turner has started to play more in recent weeks, including in Week 9 against the Colts. Reichard, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the more reliable kickers in the NFL.

Reichard did not miss a kick all season until Week 9, though his misses against the Colts could be blamed on a quad injury he suffered.

Turner had been struggling to find playing time with the depth the Vikings have at edge rusher, but he may finally be earning the coaching staff’s trust.

Kevin O’Connell explains Dallas Turner’s shrinking role on the Vikings

Here’s why Dallas Turner hasn’t seen the field as much lately.

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.”

Vikings LB Blake Cashman misses practice ahead of short Week 8

The Minnesota Vikings haven’t finished licking their wounds from their first loss of the season against the Detroit Lions.

The Minnesota Vikings haven’t finished licking their wounds from their first loss of the season against the Detroit Lions. However, they have to shift their focus to the Los Angeles Rams with whom they play on a short week.

The team published its first injury report of Week 8, and it was mostly positive. However, one injury that lingered in Week 7 is carrying over to Thursday’s matchup: Blake Cashman’s toe.

The veteran linebacker and major free agent signing this past offseason missed their matchup against the Lions with turf toe. In his absence, the Lions ran for 144 yards as a team instead of the usual 72 they were holding teams to when he played. His absence played a significant role in the defense bending more than normal against the Lions.

The Los Angeles Rams, led by running back Kyren Williams, are averaging 100 yards per game and 4 yards per rush. Without Cashman, the Vikings may allow the Rams to boost those season totals.

Vikings DC Brian Flores is happy with Dallas Turner’s development

Some folks have also noticed that Dallas Turner has been rather silent on a team full of game-wreckers on the edge.

The Vikings’ defense is firing on all cylinders and is on pace for a record-setting year. The group and the performance that Brian Flores has gotten out of them is getting noticed by everyone around the league.

Some folks have also noticed that Dallas Turner has been rather silent on a team full of game-wreckers on the edge.

The first-round pick out of Alabama came in and had high expectations. People often forget that the development of edge rushers from college to the NFL takes time to fully turn into the gamewreckers they were in college. Brian Flores spoke to the media on Tuesday and shared his thoughts on his development.

“I think Dallas has done a great job… I think he’s an ascending player, he’s been great in meetings, when his number is called he’s showing up.. we’re constantly trying to figure out how to get him in. He’s in a really good spot”

We can use Jonathan Greenard as an example of how long it can take for players to develop. In the first three years of his career, he had a total of 10.5 sacks before recording  16.5 in his last 20 games over the last two seasons.

It will take some time with Turner, Flores has faith, so you should have some faith as well. In the meantime, enjoy Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard coming off the edge full-time.

Vikings get defensive line help in ESPN’s latest 2025 NFL mock draft

The Minnesota Vikings get help along the defensive line in the latest 2025 NFL mock draft from ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid.

The Minnesota Vikings are still riding high as one of only two unbeaten teams left in the NFL. They’re sitting atop the toughest division in the NFL right now, the NFC North, and have their sights set on doing some big things this season. But that doesn’t mean we can’t start looking ahead towards the future of this team. That future starts with the 2025 NFL Draft.

The Vikings laid a good foundation with the 2024 NFL Draft, especially in the first round, grabbing who they believe to be the future of their franchise with quarterback J.J. McCarthy. They also make an effort to shore up their pass rush by taking edge rusher Dallas Turner with their second first-round pick. Turner has struggled some in his rookie campaign, but he still has a bright future ahead of him in defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ scheme.

While the Vikings have several high-quality pieces on both sides of the ball, several areas can be improved. According to ESPN’s NFL Draft analyst Jordan Reid, the Vikings’ biggest areas of need heading into the 2025 NFL Draft are along the offensive line—particularly at guard, the defensive tackle spot, and cornerback.

So, where should the Vikings look next April?

Reid has the Vikings getting some defensive line help with the last pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, taking Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon. Here’s Reid’s breakdown of the selection:

The Michigan State transfer has quickly become arguably Oregon’s best defensive player. With a quick first step, Harmon has been able to consistently penetrate the first level, picking up three sacks this season. His strong hands help him stack and shed blocks in the middle as a run defender, but he must do a better job of finishing plays. The Vikings’ defense has been excellent this season, but it probably still needs long-term depth at defensive tackle. Harmon’s explosion would work well in Brian Flores’ attacking unit.

It’s a little surprising to see Reid projecting the Viking to land help on the defensive side when guard has been such a glaring need for the team. However, that situation may improve with the return of Dalton Risner, and the Vikings could certainly use the depth at the position. Harrison Phillips isn’t going to play forever, and Minnesota would do well to think about the next man up despite his recent extension.

He’ll have some mighty big shoes to fill.