Matthew Coller: Brian Flores is preaching patience with rookie Dallas Turner

The Vikings' DC insisted that good things are on the way for the 2024 first-rounder...

Dallas Turner / Minnesota Vikings

EAGAN — In his first NFL game, Dallas Turner earned a game ball. He was on the field for 35 defensive snaps, rushed the passer 23 times and got his first career sack. Since then his highest snap total this season has been 18 plays and he has only registered eight defensive reps over the last two games. Meanwhile, the Vikings have elected to use other pass rushers like Patrick Jones and Jihad Ward in rotational roles.

Naturally, Turner’s reduction in snaps has raised eyebrows. Head coach Kevin O’Connell has insisted in two different press conferences that Turner is on the right path, saying on Friday: “I'm very, very excited about having him as part of our team. And that'll be something these next 10 plus games, I think he's going to make a big-time impact for us.”

On Tuesday, defensive coordinator Brian Flores asked for patience when it comes to the development of the Vikings’ first-round pick.

“I think he's done a great job, I think he's a young player, I think he's got a bright future,” Flores said. “We've heard the talk about the snap counts, and I think it's just hard to make a determination on a player and what he is based on seven games, especially early in his career. I think Dallas is going to be just fine. I think everybody kind of wants everything right now. He does, too. Like, he wants to be out there. And we'll get him out there.”

Turner’s snap count is low compared to other rookies but it’s not as far off as you might think. He is one of only 11 defensive players that are 21 or younger and just four of them have played at least 50% of their team’s defensive snaps. Among all rookies on defense, only 18 have been on the field for half of the plays or more. Two of those were first-round rushers in Jared Verse and Laitu Latu, who are each 24 years old.

Flores used star Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward as an example of a player who developed during his early years and then eventually turned into a star. Heyward did not start a game in his first two seasons and totaled 2.5 sacks and has since turned into a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro.

“I remember talking to Cam just a couple of years ago about his first couple of years… This guy's a future Hall of Famer and he didn't play very much his first two years in the league, he was sitting behind some really good players and made me think of Dallas, who was also in a room with a lot of good players,” Flores said.

Is Heyward’s track to excellence unique along the defensive line or the norm? The answer seems be case by case. Last season there were 12 rookie edge rushers who played at least 300 snaps but only three of them topped 30 QB pressures and only two were graded by PFF above 65 (above average).

There are some examples of stars being stars right away like Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson, who played 953 snaps, graded 80.7 and had 9.5 sacks as a rookie. Players like Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby, Josh Hines-Allen and Brian Burns also set the world on fire right away.

But there are many examples of rookie edge rushers starting slowly and then developing in the subsequent years.

If we look at the sack leaders from 2021 through 2024, the top 15 has plenty of players who started off slowly. Some examples:

— Trey Hendrickson (2nd in sacks since 2021) had 2.0 sacks as a rookie

— Danielle Hunter (4th) had 6.0 sacks in Year 1

— Haason Reddick (5th) had 2.5 sacks as a rookie

— Khalil Mack (8th) registered 4.0 sacks in his first season

— Matt Judon (10th) posted 4.0 sacks as a rookie

— Harold Landry (15th) had 4.5 sacks in his debut season

Sometimes the situation dictates opportunity. In this case, Turner missed a game against the Packers due to injury and then the Vikings have had some strange scheduling since then. They played in London and then had two games in four days last week.

Turner is also parked behind two of the best edge rushers in the league. Jonathan Greenard is the ninth highest graded edge rusher by PFF and ranks third in the NFL in QB pressures. Andrew Van Ginkel not only ranks 17th of 70 edge players with at least 225 snaps but he also ranks No. 1 by a country mile in terms of coverage snaps. So if Turner subbed in for Van Ginkel, he would need to understand coverage assignments in a complex Flores defense. Patrick Jones has been in coverage 25 times on 254 snaps.

“It was great to learn from that group to be a sponge and hear about the adjustments in the game and hear about the techniques you're going to use against that player versus that player,” Flores said. “He took in all that information and when he got out there, he made the most of his opportunities.”

After two weeks of his snap count sinking, Flores hinted that we will see him on the field more in the coming weeks.

“I think we're going to get him in a little bit more, certainly,” Flores said. “But he's in a deep room. Dallas Turner's a good player. I'll say that.”

Where Turner has been getting a lot of work is special teams. The rookie has been on the field for 92 snaps on Matt Daniels’s unit.

“Everyone comes in as a high-profile guy and the biggest thing is, especially for a guy who's never played special team before in his life, you gotta get him to buy in to what we're doing,” Daniels said. “[Turner] has fully submerged himself in that. And you appreciate that. You see the energy on the field, you see the effort. And now it’s just small technique things…He's done an unbelievable job for us, truly buying in.”