Matthew Coller: Akers trade, Risner at RG and Dallas Turner's progress

What is Cam Akers' role? Will Dalton Risner start at right guard? Is rookie Dallas Turner ascending?

Dallas Turner / Minnesota Viking

The Vikings were busy Tuesday, trading for old pal, running back Cam Akers, and getting Dalton Risner on the field after spending the first six weeks of the season on injured reserve. Let's break those two stories down and look into the development of rookie edge rusher Dallas Turner.

Vikings trade for RB Cam Akers

The Vikings shored up the running back room by trading a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2026 draft for Cam Akers and a 2026 conditional seventh from the Houston Texans.

Whether the move is to immediately provide depth because Aaron Jones may need a few weeks to fully heal from his hip injury or if last week’s game against the Jets was a wakeup call that they needed when it came to the running back depth, Akers adds some important elements to the backfield. First, experience in the system. He has been in the McVay system since being drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 2020. Last year he spent part of the season with Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings before injuring his Achilles in Week 9 against the Falcons and missing the remainder of the year. There shouldn’t be much learning curve and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him play right away.

Akers is an excellent pass protector. In 85 career snaps in pass pro, he has allowed only five QB pressures and in his highest usage season (2022), he graded 73.9 by PFF in pass blocking, fourth best among RBs with more than 30 blocking snaps.

He was effective out of the backfield in the passing game, catching 11 passes on 12 targets for 70 yards as a Viking last season.

More than anything, Akers brings an edge. He plays with a physical toughness that is similar to Aaron Jones, where he can blast forward in short yardage situations or get a few extra yards when opponents think they have him down. Per PFF, he averages 2.6 yards after contact this year and has forced 10 missed tackles on 40 attempts.

Where will Akers fit in? When Jones is healthy, he gives O’Connell another option outside of speedster Ty Chandler. He can mix and match depending on the situation. If Jones is resting for a series and they need a third-and-long pass protector, Akers can handle that. If they are looking for an explosive first-and-10 run, Chandler might get the call.

Before the Jets game, Jones was on pace to carry the football more than 270 times this year. That would have been his career high. Since the Vikings have plans to play into January, they will need the freshest version of Jones that they can possibly get. That would have been very hard to achieve if they were only leaning on Chandler. And if Jones does miss games, the Vikings should still be able to run the ball effectively. Akers still has burst despite his injury history and has averaged 5.1, 4.1 and 4.7 yards per carry in three games where he got significant work that weren’t against the Vikings’ stout defense.

Since the Vikings have traded for him twice, it’s clear that O’Connell really appreciates what Akers brings to the table — and he said as much when the Vikings faced the Texans earlier this year.

“I love Cam Akers,” O’Connell said. “I got a chance to be around him from his first day being an NFL player, coming off an unbelievable career at Florida State. Cam is a unique, special, and talented person. To deal with the type of adversity he has in his young career and never once have you ever heard him feel sorry for himself. Incredibly tough player, both mentally and physically. The Houston Texans having Cam Akers makes him a player we've got to focus on regardless of what the depth chart looks like going into the game because I know exactly what Cam Akers is and what he's capable of on any Sunday in the National Football League. I am looking forward to seeing him, I have a great relationship with him, and care about him tremendously.”

Overall the Vikings could have looked for other trade options in the backfield but Akers came at virtually no cost, allowing them to use their remaining draft capital for other deals if they choose. Is this the only move or just the start? The trade deadline isn’t until November 5 but with trades involving Davante Adams and Amari Cooper, it’s clear that teams aren’t waiting until the last moment.

Will Dalton Risner get a shot at right guard?

When the Minnesota Vikings brought back guard Dalton Risner, head coach Kevin O’Connell said that he was going to compete for a starting job at either the left or right guard positions. But that never really materialized as he was a second-teamer through the early parts of training camp and then suffered an injury that kept him out of the preseason and the first five games of the year.

On Monday the Vikings opened up Risner’s 21-day window to practice before they have to find a spot on the 53-man roster for him. That opens up the door for the competition to really begin at right guard.

“I’m in football shape, I’m ready to roll, I’ve been ready,” Risner said on Monday.

The Vikings hoped that 2022 second-round pick Ed Ingram would take another step forward this season after showing some progress last year. Between his rookie season and Year 2, Ingram’s PFF pass blocking grade improved from 44.4 (54th of 57) to 60.9 (34th of 58) but he hasn’t carried over that bump in performance to this season, sliding back to 62nd of 63 guards with at least 200 snaps.

In total, Ingram has been credited with 17 QB pressures, fourth most among guards. His Pass Blocking Efficiency is second lowest in the NFL and his career mark is lower than previously maligned guards Dakota Dozier, Mike Remmers and Tom Compton.

The offensive line has really only had one weak link this year. The next most pressures allowed on the O-line is 13 by center Garrett Bradbury and new starting left guard Blake Brandel has only been credited with five. Neither elite tackle has reached double digits in pressures allowed yet. The right guard position has given up 29.6% of the total pressures on Sam Darnold, which is the second highest of any RG in the league.

Now that Risner is back at practice, will he get a chance to start over Ingram? Risner has never played right guard in the NFL, playing all 4,518 snaps on the left side.

“I’m comfortable at right and left, whatever guard position it is, truly,” Risner said. “Whatever position they want me to play, I’m ready to go. You guys know that I just want to play football, you know what I mean?”

Since arriving, Risner has repeatedly said that he can play anywhere on the line and cited his experience in college when he played center and right tackle.

“I didn't see a lot of difference really as far as as far as when he was taking reps on the right,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. “Usually it takes those guys a day or two just to kind of kind of get used to just switching that stance to the other side and kind of being a part of the right side calls as opposed to the left. But usually the pros who've played offensive line most of their lives, they can usually make that adjustment pretty quickly.”

Risner would offer an enormous upgrade in pass protection if the Vikings tabbed him for the starting position. Last year he ranked 20th in pass block grade by PFF (of 58) and gave up zero sacks in 485 snaps. He had similarly impressive numbers in 2022 with Denver, only allowing three sacks and ranking 19th in pass block grade.

The decision isn’t exactly open and shut though. The strongest part of Ingram’s game is the same as the weakest part of Risner’s repertoire. Ingram has physicality to his run blocking that can be a major asset at times (though he hasn’t been dominant, ranking 25th, 34th and 40th in three seasons), whereas Risner graded 49th in run blocking in 2023.

Risner would like an opportunity to prove himself considering he didn’t have offers as a starter this offseason.

“My motivation level is through the roof,” Risner said. “I have a chip on my shoulder, I have a lot that I want to prove and a lot that I want to say but for now I’m just going to keep it at: Practice was great today, I’m really grateful to be back.”

Dallas Turner’s progress and development on special teams

The Vikings paid a significant price to acquire Dallas Turner in the draft but so far he hasn’t seen a lot of playing time. The former Alabama star has been on the field for just 77 defensive snaps and has 1.0 sack, six tackles.

Of course, the Vikings have the top defense in the NFL and their veteran edge rushers have been nothing short of fantastic. Jonathan Greenard entered Week 6 ranked second in the NFL in QB pressures, Andrew Van Ginkel has 3.0 sacks and two pick-sixes and Patrick Jones has 5.0 sacks.

“I think he's an ascending player,” defensive coordinator Brian Flores said. “I think he's been great in meetings…when his number's called, he has shown up defensively. He made a great play on the fourth down stop the other day.”

Where Turner is getting new experience is on special teams. He has totaled 61 snaps and played on kickoff coverage, punt return, punt coverage and field goal blocking.

Special teams coordinator Matt Daniels said that Turner never played on special teams before but has taken on the challenge.

“I think he has embraced it and he enjoys it,” Daniels said. “He sees guys like Ivan Pace out there, he sees guys like Josh Metellus out there, he sees guys who's doing things at an elite level in the other phase of our game, CJ Ham, to where he understands and realizes like, okay, this isn't just something that is just meant for role players on our football team.”

What has stood out to Daniels specifically is Turner’s enthusiasm.

“He brings unbelievable energy into the meeting rooms on the practice field,” Daniels said. “You can see him on game days. He's celebrating, he's the first guy when we down the punt on the 2-yard line celebrating because he's just so excited and he just loves football. So when you got guys that love football the way he does is it makes it easy.”

Over the years we have seen plenty of players hone their skills on special teams as they develop, including most recently versatile defender Josh Metellus. How can playing on special teams units help Turner be ready for when a larger role on defense does come along?

“He's still raw and you know the thing with special teams is that there's so much space play that's involved. Like it's chaos, there's bodies flying everywhere. But the thing that's always really a premium in the special teams world is block destruction and being able to tackle in space. Instincts and kind of awareness, and it's kind of plays into that role too. So when you start looking at being able to develop special teams guys, it's how good do you defeat blocks?”

Daniels said that special teamers have to understand a number of different block-defeating and tackle techniques. They often face situations where they are decelerating quickly and trying to take down a returner who can go left, right or straight. As a player who both rushes the passer and is asked to make plays in space, Turner can hone his craft and be prepared for receivers, tight ends and running backs when he gets more playing time on defense.

That could be coming soon.

“We're constantly trying to figure out how to get him in, whether it's a package here or a package there,” Flores said. “But I think he's in a really good spot.”