Kevin O’Connell’s reaction to Vikings drafting Dallas Turner may be the best we see all weekend
There was a lot of pressure for the Minnesota Vikings to make a splash Thursday night in Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft, particularly at quarterback after parting ways with Kirk Cousins in free agency. They ultimately traded up one spot, without giving up a king’s ransom, and selected Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy No. 10 overall.
But they weren’t done.
The Vikings traded up six spots from No. 23 to No. 17 and selected Alabama EDGE rusher Dallas Turner … and the look on Kevin O’Connell‘s face in the War Room when he heard about it was priceless.
Reactions like this are truly what the NFL Draft is all about. His “Really?” says it all; you could tell O’Connell was elated–and simultaneously shocked–at the selection, just as much as the rest of us.
Turner was arguably the best defensive player in the class; Trey had him No. 5 overall on his board. He was widely regarded as a top-10 selection and kept falling after a record 14 straight offensive players went off the board to kick off Thursday’s draft.
Here is an excerpt from Trey’s draft profile on Turner:
“You need pass rushers who are just pure freaks. Turner fits that mold to a T. Turner totally blew up the Combine. I have no idea why the NFL had him workout with the linebackers instead of the edge rushers but whatever. Regardless, he posted a 4.46 on the 40 and leaped 40.5 inches on the vertical. Just totally insane numbers for a guy who measures in at 6-foot-3, 247. … He’s mean, nasty, and comes at you in a blur. I’m not sure how difficult this evaluation is. Some guys are just a different breed and Turner is simply a dude.”
Turner recently turned 21-years-old, so he’s still a young prospect. He was still a monster in the SEC, tallying 10 sacks, 14.5 tackles-for-loss and forced two fumbles in 2023, earning first-team All-American honors and won the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year. In 38 career games, he posted 120 combined tackles, 22.5 sacks, 32.5 tackles-for-loss, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries (one TD).
Turner joins Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel to potentially form a very lethal pass-rushing combination. O’Connell’s reaction only makes me wonder how defensive coordinator Brian Flores reacted when he found out he now has another explosive pass rusher to work with.
It was probably similar to O’Connell’s, which was a perfect representation of how Vikings fans felt globally.
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