Kevin O'Connell praises Vikings rookie Dallas Turner amid shrinking role

"He's gonna be an absolute monster for us," KOC said of the 21-year-old.

Oct 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Dallas Turner (15) warms up before the game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

One of the Vikings' first-round picks this year, injured quarterback J.J. McCarthy, watched Sunday's game against the Lions from the home sideline. Their other first-round pick spent most of his afternoon doing the same thing.

Outside linebacker Dallas Turner, the No. 17 overall pick in this year's draft, played a season-low four defensive snaps in the loss against Detroit. His main role, as was the case over the previous couple weeks, was on special teams, where he played 20 snaps.

Turner played 35 snaps on defense and notched his first career sack in the Vikings' season opener against the Giants. But since returning from a one-week injury absence, he's played 28 snaps over the last three games combined. Instead of expanding over the course of his rookie season, Turner's role is getting smaller and smaller.

Asked about that dynamic on Monday, head coach Kevin O'Connell gave a strong defense of the Vikings' 21-year-old rookie out of Alabama.

"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."

Those two contextual factors — the players he's behind on the depth chart and the complexity of the team's scheme — help explain why Turner isn't playing much on a team that's fully in win-now mode. Greenard and Van Ginkel are two of the better OLBs in the league, and Jones has thrived in a rotational role behind them this season. Those three are tied for the team lead with five sacks apiece. And in Flores' defense, there's a lot more than just rushing the passer off the edge that goes into playing the OLB position.

That doesn't mean it isn't slightly concerning to see Turner's role shrinking, but it does make it a bit more understandable. O'Connell is still quite confident in his long-term outlook.

"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."