Young Vikings Dallas Turner, Jake Golday, Demond Claiborne Draw Praise

The Vikings held a shorter practice at Day 2 of minicamp on Wednesday, so the more interesting part of the day was hearing from players like Andrew Van Ginkel, Aaron Jones, and Josh Metellus afterwards. One thing that came up multiple times across these pressers was praise from the veterans for some of the young players on Minnesota's roster.

Dallas Turner

With Jonathan Greenard gone, a massive opportunity exists for Dallas Turner in his third NFL season. Still just 23 years old, he showed enough growth and upside in the second half of last season to make the Vikings feel comfortable moving on from Greenard for financial reasons. Turner will be a full-time starter opposite Andrew Van Ginkel, who believes a big season is ahead for his teammate.

"I'm super excited for Dallas," Van Ginkel said. "I think he's taken a huge step forward. I've seen the way he attacks each OTA, he comes to work willing to get better. I think he has high potential and he's got a high standard for himself. I'm excited to see how he goes out and performs this year, because I think he could have a good year and people around the league are gonna be talking a lot about Dallas Turner."

Jake Golday

Another 23-year-old defender to keep an eye on in 2026 is Jake Golday, the Vikings' second-round pick out of Cincinnati. A big-time athlete and versatile playmaker, Golday is initially working as an off-ball linebacker but could wind up as a Van Ginkel-type OLB down the line.

"I think he's a smart, instinctive player," Van Ginkel said. "He's here for a reason. Flores and his staff saw something in him, and it's very clear that he's going to be a great player in this league. He's picking up the defense, which is a very complicated defense, pretty quickly in my opinion.

"It's hard to say exactly what position he'll be, obviously in Flo's system we're all versatile, we're all on the edge, we're all inside linebackers playing three-tech, then you're dropping middle runner and all these things. But I think he has the traits to be a great football player, and I'm excited to help him grow and reach his full potential."

Demond Claiborne

Sixth-round rookies don't tend to play a lot right away. And while that may be the case for former Wake Forest running back Demond Claiborne, it feels like the Vikings will need to find a way to get his electric athleticism onto the field for a handful of plays early on. He's already drawn a pretty lofty comparison from one of his veteran teammates in the running back room.

"You can tell he's special when he steps out there on the field," Aaron Jones said of Claiborne. "He has a different gear to him. ... He has the speed to trail blaze and get through (NFL holes). Honestly, he looks a little bit like Jahmyr Gibbs in terms of that speed and that burst. So I'm excited to see it.

"He's become my little brother, him and (UDFA Kejon Owens). I love having them in the facility, love being around 'em, we're gonna spend some time this offseason out in Miami working out together."

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