Vikings training camp recap, Day 5: Dallas Turner shines as pads come on

Although the endless hype and discussion around J.J. McCarthy is understandable, we shouldn't be overlooking the Vikings' other 2024 first-round pick. Dallas Turner, last year's No. 17 overall selection, showed up to Minnesota's offseason program earlier this year in phenomenal shape and really turned heads with his play during minicamp.

All he's done over the first week of training camp is continue that momentum. Turner was one of the main standouts of Monday's practice, which was the first of camp with the players in full pads. He broke out a spin move to beat his opponent in 1-on-1 drills. He had a rep on a run play in 11-on-11 that was so physical that the backup tackle blocking him wound up in the backfield without a helmet. One play later, Turner burst around that player for a would-be sack. Facing the first-team offense later in practice, Turner made an athletic, Andrew Van Ginkel-esque play to break up a screen pass.

All of the signs point to a big second season for Turner, who showed flashes as a rookie but had a limited role as the No. 4 player on the outside linebacker depth chart. He's now the clear No. 3 in that room, but the Vikings look at it as having "three starters" with Turner alongside Jonathan Greenard and Van Ginkel. They'll rotate those three to keep them fresh and will also have plenty of personnel groupings with all three on the field, especially because Turner and Van Ginkel can both line up at off-ball linebacker as needed. Turner has said he spent a lot of time working out with — and learning from — Greenard after last season ended, which is encouraging.

Here's what else stood out at practice on Monday:

• Greenard looks like a man on a mission this year. I've already talked about him quite a bit in these camp recaps, but he deserves to keep being mentioned. He's been living in the backfield all camp long and doing some rude things to Vikings left tackle Justin Skule, who is filling in until Christian Darrisaw is healthy. "He plays angry, which every D-lineman should," Brian O'Neill said of Greenard. "He wants it really bad. You can see it in his eyes, you can hear it in the way he talks. You can see it in the way he trained all offseason. This stuff's really important to him. If it was as important to everybody as it is to JG, we're in a good spot."

• The Vikings ended practice with a situational period. The offense trailed by three points with 1:15 on the clock and one timeout, needing to go down the field and at least set up a game-tying field goal. With the starters squaring off, the offense instead went backwards. McCarthy was sacked on the first play, with Javon Hargrave and Greenard among those in the backfield. He was nearly sacked again after that, but a defensive penalty was called. The repeated second down saw McCarthy pressured again, and his attempted checkdown to Jordan Mason fell incomplete. On third and long, he was swallowed up by Jonathan Allen and others for a sack. The Vikings' young quarterback simply had no room to breathe in that period. While the first-team offensive line won't be happy with those plays, I think it says more about how dominant this defensive line might be in 2025.

• The second-team offense didn't fare much better in the same drill. Sam Howell was 0 for 3, failing to connect with Tai Felton on first down before sailing a couple deep balls long to end the day. Howell did do some good things earlier in the practice, including a long throw to Dontae Fleming and a play where he stepped up and delivered a strike to Rondale Moore.

• McCarthy didn't have a huge day like he did on Saturday, but he made some nice throws over the course of the practice. His best was a deep hole shot to Lucky Jackson that he fit into a very tight window. Theo Jackson nearly got there for the interception, but the ball got through to Lucky for a long touchdown. McCarthy also threw a great ball to Jalen Nailor on the right sideline, putting it where Nailor could go up and high point it before getting both feet down inbounds. There were also down moments for McCarthy, including a botched snap exchange under center and a ball he put behind Nailor while throwing on the run, which led to some coaching points from Kevin O'Connell.

• A few different Vikings cornerbacks had strong days, but the one who stood out most to me was Dwight McGlothern. The second-year player ran Moore's route for him in 1-on-1s and secured an interception, then immediately punted the ball high into the air in celebration. Later, McGlothern set up an INT in 11s when he deflected a Howell pass intended for Felton into the air. Jay Ward was right there to come down with an easy pick. Jeff Okudah stood out in 1-on-1s with his physicality, as did undrafted rookie Zemaiah Vaughn, who had a few strong reps on Monday and has been impressive dating back to the spring.

• Brian O'Neill and Ryan Kelly had some impressive reps in OL/DL 1-on-1s against Van Ginkel and Hargrave, respectively. Allen got the better of rookie Donovan Jackson a couple times. The best wide receiver reps I saw in 1-on-1s came from Jordan Addison, Jeshaun Jones, and Lucky Jackson.

• Isaiah Rodgers was out for an undisclosed reason for the second straight practice. We'll see if we get an update from O'Connell on his status on Tuesday. That meant more work for Mekhi Blackmon with the first-team defense alongside Byron Murphy Jr. and Okudah. Josh Metellus (ankle) was back at practice, but Justin Jefferson — as expected — remained out. For the first time, Will Fries was out there at right guard during team periods.

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