Dallas Turner set to take on significant role in Week 2 vs. Falcons and Kevin O'Connell is confident in him 'My excitement is genuine'

Injuries are a significant part of football, and the Minnesota Vikings are feeling the brunt of that going into Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons. The final injury report was released on Friday afternoon with the Vikings having three players ruled out: cornerback Jeff Okudah, edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel, and left tackle Christian Darrisaw.

The biggest loss in Week 2 from Monday's win is Van Ginkel, as Darrisaw already missed the game, still recovering from the torn ACL he suffered in week 8 last season and Okudah played in just 16 snaps as the CB3. Not having Van Ginkel will change a lot of things with how Brian Flores calls his defense. It's also going to open up a huge opportunity for the 2024 first-round pick.

Dallas Turner has huge opportunity

After a rookie season in which Turner played just 310 defensive snaps and had the fan base concerned about his future. The coaching staff isn't worried about Turner. Head coach Kevin O'Connell is really excited for him.

"I can promise you guys that my excitement for Dallas Turner, every time I've had a chance to talk with you, has been real. It's been authentic. It's been genuine," said O'Connell on Friday. I hope you think all the things that I say to you guys is real, authentic and genuine, but I'm so excited for him, just because there is a personal football journey that takes place with every player in the NFL, and the jump that he is currently experiencing will be highlighted clearly with Gink [Van Ginkel] being out this week, but we have viewed it from day one as three potential starters.

"The one downside is we loved the fact that we had all three of them on the field together in so many situations last week in different personnel groupings. Dallas will clearly take on a bigger role. Flow [Brian Flores] already mentioned it. In our minds, he played more than the snaps he even did on Monday night, and that snap count is clearly going to go up this weekend. Should stay up with keeping such a strong position on our team rested and ready to go in and make an impact, and using those guys in that rotation."

Turner did play well in the 29 snaps he played. What was really impressive throughout the game was how much different he looks. You can see the added strength Turner has put on his frame, and it comes up huge at the point of attack.