Last season, the Minnesota Vikings finished third in total defense, and what played a major part in that is Minnesota finishing tied for fourth in sacks last season with 49.0. While this defense may have lost some key pieces from a year ago, there is one ESPN NFL analyst who believes the best may be on its way for this Vikings young pass rusher.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano went through every NFL team and gave a bold prediction for 2026, and he claims that Dallas Turner will finish among the league leaders in sacks:
Turner, the Vikings’ other first-round pick from the 2024 draft, 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. 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.
If the Vikings want to finish as a top-five defense once again in 2026, they will need Turner to take that next step in his development. Should he finish in that 12.0 sack range, we can officially say he has arrived, and the likelihood of this defense being elite once again would be high.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Analyst predicts Vikings pass rusher to be among league leaders
