Brian Flores preaches patience with rookie Dallas Turner

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 season-high has been 18 appearances and he has registered just eight defensive reps over the past two games. Meanwhile, the Vikings have opted 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 emphasized at two separate press conferences that Turner is on the right track, saying on Friday: “I’m very, very excited to have him as part of our team. And that will be something in the next ten games. I think he will have a big 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 did a great job, I think he’s a young player, I think he has a bright future,” Flores said. “We’ve heard the talk about the snap counts, and I think it’s hard to make a decision on a player and what he’s based on after seven games, especially early in his career. I think things are going well in Dallas. I think everyone wants everything right now. He does that too. Like, he wants to be there. And we will take him 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 eleven defensive players age 21 or younger and only four of them have played at least 50% of their team’s defensive snaps. Of all rookies on defense, only 18 have been on the field for half the games or longer. Two of those were first-round rushers in Jared Verse and Laitu Latu, who are each 24 years old.

Flores used Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward as an example of a player who developed during his early years and eventually blossomed into a star. Heyward didn’t 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 a few years ago about his early years… This guy is a future Hall of Famer and he didn’t play much his first two years in the league, he was behind some really good players. and reminded me of Dallas, who was also in a room with a lot of good players,” Flores said.

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

There are some examples of stars who are instant stars, like Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson, who played 953 snaps, posted an 80.7 grade point average and had 9.5 sacks as a rookie. Players like Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby, Josh Hines-Allen and Brian Burns also immediately set the world on fire.

But there are many examples of rookie edge rushers who start slowly and then develop over the next few years.

Looking at the sack leaders from 2021 through 2024, the top 15 includes many players who started 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) recorded 4.0 sacks in his freshman season

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

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

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

Turner is also parked behind two of the best edge rushers in the league. Jonathan Greenard is PFF’s ninth-ranked edge rusher and ranks third in the NFL in QB pressure. Not only does Andrew Van Ginkel rank 17th out of 70 edge players with at least 225 snaps, but he also ranks first in coverage snaps. So if Turner were to replace Van Ginkel, he would have to understand coverage assignments in a complex Flores defense. Patrick Jones has been in coverage 25 times with 254 photos.

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

After his numbers quickly dropped, Flores hinted two weeks ago that we’ll see him on the field more often in the coming weeks.

“I think we’ll definitely bring him in a little bit more,” Flores said. ‘But he’s in a deep room. Dallas Turner is a good player. I will say that.”

Where Turner has gotten a lot of work is on special teams. The rookie has already been on the field 92 times on Matt Daniels’ unit.

“Everyone comes in as a high-profile guy and the biggest thing is, especially for a guy who has never played for a special teams before in his life, you have to get him to buy into what we’re doing,” Daniels said. “(Turner) has fully immersed himself in that. And you appreciate that. You see the energy on the field, you see the effort. And now it’s just little technical things… He’s done an incredible job for us, he’s really bought in.”