Jonathan Greenard Has Big Expectations For Vikings' Dallas Turner

Jonathan Greenard knows what it's like to mentor a young, highly-drafted pass rusher, then see that player truly flourish after his departure. It's already happened once in the last few years, and he's hoping to see it happen again.

Back in 2023, Greenard's fourth season with the Texans, Houston traded up to use the No. 3 overall pick on Will Anderson Jr., a two-time All-American edge rusher out of Alabama. They instantly became a lethal duo on the field and extremely close off of it. Greenard broke out with a career-high 12.5 sacks that season and Anderson had 7, winning defensive rookie of the year.

The following spring, Greenard signed with the Vikings. A month later, the Vikings traded up to use the No. 17 overall pick on Dallas Turner, an All-American edge rusher out of Alabama. Turner showed some flashes as a rookie while playing behind Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, then had a bit of a breakout season with 8 sacks in 2025, including 6.5 in the final eight games of the season.

Even after Greenard joined the Vikings, his close relationship with Anderson continued. He remained a friend and mentor for the young Texans star, who had a big second season and then emerged as a legitimate superstar last year, finishing second to Myles Garrett in defensive player of the year voting.

A couple weeks ago, Greenard was traded from the Vikings to the Eagles for financial reasons. One of the big ripple effects of that move is that it frees up a full-time role for Turner, who the Vikings hope can ascend into stardom in his third NFL season. And much like Greenard continued to talk to Anderson after leaving the Texans two years ago, he plans on doing the same with Turner despite no longer being his teammate.

"The next person up now is Dallas," Greenard said recently on the Green Light podcast with Chris Long. "I'm gonna say it now, Dallas Turner."

"When he's on and he's dialed in on the game plan, the kid is a bottle of explosion," Greenard said. "The guy is literally a 4.4 guy (in the 40), and he's only just breaking the surface of how he's gonna be in this league. That's who I'm taking care of next. I'm watching him real close, I'm still gonna be talking to him the same way, like 'Listen, XYZ has to happen' or this is not gonna happen.

"Just the little small things you gotta have when you're dealing with a young guy like that, because they don't know. As much as they are mature when you talk to them, they talk a good game, they still don't know what they don't know yet."

Jonathan Greenard and Dallas Turner | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

None of this is to compare Turner to Anderson, who was a truly elite prospect coming out of college and is on a Hall of Fame trajectory at just 24 years old. But Greenard is a Pro Bowler himself and has seen what budding greatness looks like as Anderson's teammate, so to hear the expectations he has for Turner after two years as his teammate has to get Vikings fans excited.

"He's gonna take this big, big step," Greenard said. "You saw him kind of do it a little bit towards the (end of) last season. And now this point, shoot, I said 'It's time now. This is your time, this is your team, you need to go ahead and make that happen.' So I'll be looking real close for him and I know it's gonna get done because that boy a dog, too."

This is also another reminder that Vikings fans shouldn't have any reason to be upset with Greenard in the wake of a trade that was purely motivated by the business side of the sport. He was a great player and leader in his two years in Minnesota, and it sounds like he's going to continue to be in Turner's ear moving forward. That's an invaluable resource for the 23-year-old Turner to have as he approaches a massive opportunity in his third NFL season.

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