The Minnesota Vikings rounded out their group of pass-rushers by adding two-time Super Bowl champion Kyle Van Noy this week, but it’s another member of the outside linebacking corps who the team hopes will lead its defensive attack off the edge this season.
Dan Graziano of ESPN predicted Wednesday, September 2 that third-year player Dallas Turner will take a huge leap in 2026 and flirt with the top sack total in the NFL by the time the season ends.
“Turner … had three sacks as a rookie and eight last season, including 6.5 in his final eight games. And in talking to people with the Vikings, it sounds like Turner has reached another gear this offseason and should be positioned to flourish in his third year in Brian Flores’ defense,” Graziano wrote. “The Vikings need Turner to be a dominant presence off the edge, and during the offseason and training camp, he has impressed teammates and coaches alike with his command of the defense and the advances he has made in technique.”
Vikings Turning to Dallas Turner as Full-Time Starter After Jonathan Greenard Trade
Turner started 10 of 17 games during his sophomore campaign after appearing in 16 contests and starting none of those as a first-round rookie.
Minnesota traded Jonathan Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles during this year’s draft in return for two third-round picks, despite team brass admitting that the move made the Vikings less formidable in the immediate.
“He’s an impact player. It’s something we understand is not making the Minnesota Vikings a better team today,” former interim GM Rob Brzezinski said, per Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune. “But there’s a lot of factors involved, and particularly with the economics, we were able to reach a resolution that made sense for the Vikings.”
Greenard wanted a pay increase that Minnesota was unwilling to give him, which perhaps was the biggest reason the relationship ended after one very productive season and a second relatively successful one in 2025 that injury cut short.
“We are going to miss him,” Brzezinski continued. “We’re happy he was able to get himself a new contract, but this is not something we’re jumping around excitedly about. We did feel like it was the best thing for the organization moving forward.”
Kyle Van Noy Strong Fit in Vikings’ Defense Behind Dallas Turner, Andrew Van Ginkel
Minnesota wouldn’t have made the Greenard deal if the team did not believe that Turner could make a considerable jump forward in Year 3, which provides some calming context for Graziano’s assessment of the 23-year-old OLB’s progress over the past several months.
Turner now assumes a full-time starting role as he enters the third season of his four-year, $16 million rookie contract, which also includes a team option for the 2028 campaign that Minnesota can exercise next spring.
He will start alongside Andrew Van Ginkel, while Van Noy figures to slot into the OLB3 slot as a pass-rush specialist and primary reserve ahead of both Bo Richter and Chaz Chambliss.
“The perfect signing for an edge-rusher position that lacked depth for months,” Alec Lewis of The Athletic wrote on X Tuesday night. “Tyler Batty’s torn ACL added further urgency. Van Noy has familiarity with Brian Flores & defensive terminology.”
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