KOC Vikings nuggets: Dallas Turner, Jalen Nailor, backfield split, more

Prior to the team's first practice of training camp on Wednesday, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell spoke to the media for a second straight day. Whereas Tuesday's session with KOC and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah focused more on J.J. McCarthy and the big picture, this one saw O'Connell asked about more specific topics, including a variety of different players.

Let's take a look at some of the quick-hitting areas he touched on.

Year 2 Dallas Turner

The hype around Turner's second season has been building for quite some time. Back in minicamp, he made an incredible play in coverage 20 yards downfield, showcasing some of the versatility he brings to the table. He showed up to the offseason program looking bigger. He drew praise from teammates and from defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who said he views it as three starters in the outside linebacker room with Turner alongside stars Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard.

O'Connell echoed that idea on Wednesday and said he's expecting big things from last year's 17th overall pick.

"He came back from the jump, in the offseason program, just his body, the shape he was in, just looks so strong," O'Connell said. "I think he's gained a lot of strength, I think he's gained a lot of understanding of the role. With two Pro Bowlers at the position, to say that we feel like we've got three starters, we really feel like that. That's a testament to the work Dallas has put in. He's gonna get a lot of opportunities, different personnel groupings. ... Dallas has had a great offseason. I'm expecting a huge jump for him, starting today."

The three-headed monster in the Vikings' OLB room.

(📸 Matt Krohn-Imagn Images) pic.twitter.com/wcmnVIUCtF
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) June 10, 2025

Contract year Jalen Nailor

Nailor, a sixth-round pick in 2022, broke out with 414 yards and six touchdowns last season. It was a strong year as the Vikings' No. 3 receiver, albeit with a few too many drops. This year, heading into the final season of his rookie contract, Nailor (AKA "Speedy") showed up to the offseason program in great shape and ready to go.

"He had a great year last year," O'Connell said. "There's always gonna be some plays here and there that you want back, but I thought just the ability for him to step in early after Jordan (Addison) gets the ankle (injury) against the Giants, to have the training camp that Speedy did to be able to handle what we asked of him, not only in the weeks that followed but in that game against the Giants, to basically assume multiple roles, I thought that was really a precursor to what was a great year for Speedy, showing such versatility."

Sporting a new number (he changed from 83 to 1), Nailor is in line to reprise his role as the Vikings WR3 in 2025. And if Addison ends up being suspended by the league for 1-3 games to start the season, Nailor would find himself in more of an every-down role again.

"We'll see how these first few weeks look, what type of personnel we're gonna have for those games when we get all the information on our group back," O'Connell said. "Speedy could be a huge, huge contributor early and often, all season long, and that's my expectation. He's primed and ready to play a huge role in our offense."

Backfield deployment

One interesting question surrounding the Vikings' offense is how they'll utilize their two main running backs. Aaron Jones set a career high with 306 touches last year during the regular season, but the Vikings don't want him seeing that much usage this year at age 30. That's why they went out and acquired Jordan Mason from the 49ers via trade. The safe assumption is that it'll be a 1A/1B situation in Jones' favor, at least to start the year.

"I think you can look at it a lot of ways with looking at Aaron and Jordan, but how I just said it is how I see it, it's Aaron and Jordan," O'Connell said. "We feel like we've got, truly, a combination that will cause a lot of problems, between having two great backs that are different body types, maybe different skill sets, but they're complete backs.

"Aaron Jones can run in between the tackles, he can catch the ball, he can block in protection, he can line up anywhere in the formation. Jordan Mason has proven already to be well ahead of new players in this system from a protection standpoint, and clearly, he's got the body type to be a physical presence. So I really see those guys playing off of each other where we can keep them both fresh, keep them both in attack mode when they're in there."

O'Connell also mentioned Ty Chandler, who is third on the depth chart but did some good things in the second half of the 2023 season. And there's fullback C.J. Ham, who is in his tenth season and will continue to have some sort of role in the offense in addition to his special teams duties. He even floated the idea of using Jones and Mason simultaneously.

"Maybe we activate some two-back groupings where we've got Jordan and Aaron in the game at the same time," O'Connell said. "There's a lot of things, schematically, that we're gonna try."

O-line configuration

On Tuesday, O'Connell talked about Christian Darrisaw and Will Fries, the Vikings' two starting offensive linemen who are coming off of major season-ending injuries. Both players did enough in the offseason to avoid needing to start training camp on the PUP list, which is encouraging. Still, they're working their way back and won't quite be ready for team drills right away.

Thus, with camp beginning, the Vikings' first-team O-line will look the same as it did during the offseason program: Justin Skule in for Darrisaw at LT, Donovan Jackson at LG, Ryan Kelly at C, Blake Brandel in for Fries at RG, and Brian O'Neill at RT. The interesting thing to follow is what happens when Fries is ready to step back into full participation at right guard. Will Brandel be given a real chance to compete with the rookie Jackson at left guard, or will he be used more as a versatile backup?

O'Connell seemed to hint at the latter, even mentioning that Brandel could see time at a non-guard spot (presumably left tackle).

"Blake is ultra-versatile," O'Connell said. "So however the reps work for Will, for CD, I see Blake seeing as many as three spots this camp and taking reps in every way possible. Because we want to have the best five out there, but we want to have the most versatile, impactful eight or nine guys that we know we can go to bat with that first game and feel great about however it goes."

Year 2 Dallas Turner

Contract year Jalen Nailor

Backfield deployment

O-line configuration

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