Souhan: What about the Vikings’ other 2024 first-round pick?

The Vikings’ 2022 draft? A disaster.

The 2023 draft? A disaster mitigated by the talent, if not the maturity and reliability, of Jordan Addison.

The 2025 draft? First-round pick and starting guard Donovan Jackson had better be outstanding to mitigate what otherwise could be a disaster.

The 2024 draft? That’s the one that could save the reputation of Vikings’ boss Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

The Vikings chose two players at premium positions in the first round of the 2024 draft.

One of them, J.J. McCarthy, looked shaky before suffering an ankle sprain that could sideline him for weeks.

The other, Dallas Turner, looked every bit as shaky as McCarthy in last weekend’s home opener against the Falcons.

The Vikings knew they needed a quarterback and McCarthy looked like a safe pick because of his athletic ability, winning background and leadership skills.

In his first two NFL games, he played one good quarter.

With the 17th pick, the Vikings chose Turner, an outstanding pass rusher from Alabama. Last Sunday night, with outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel injured, Turner set a career high with 60 snaps played, 25 more than his previous best.

I watched the game once live and twice on replay, watching Turner on every play.

On the first play from scrimmage, the Falcons ran Bijan Robinson right at Turner. Atlanta receiver Drake London chipped Turner before sprinting wide and then Turner could not separate himself from left tackle Jake Matthews. Robinson ran for 25 yards.

The Falcons would rush 38 times for 219 yards and a 5.8 yards-per-carry average. Often, Turner was stymied by a tight end or tackle and came nowhere close to making a play.

Turner’s raw statistics don’t look terrible. He was credited with five total tackles and one sack. A review of the game, though, reveals that he was one of several Vikings who could not handle the blocking of a Falcons offensive line that was embarrassed by its Week 1 performance against a good Tampa Bay defensive front.

An impact outside linebacker/edge rusher is disruptive. Far too often on Sunday, Turner allowed himself to be blocked in a way that should embarrass someone of his size and pedigree.

His sack came when defensive lineman Javon Hargrave collapsed the pocket and forced Penix to move directly into Turner.

Through a season and two games in the NFL, Turner has looked good only when he has a clear path to the ball and can use his impressive speed to make a play.

If McCarthy can become the quarterback they hope he will be and Turner can become a force, the Vikings will have taken impact players at vital positions in the same draft and have young core players around whom to build.

If McCarthy and Turner don’t develop into impact players, the Vikings will have to continue to rely on veteran free agents and trades.

They have built a strong roster doing so, but that approach will eventually result in an old, overpaid roster, and would require coach Kevin O’Connell and his staff to continue to perform miracles with recycled quarterbacks like Sam Darnold.

Before Turner, the last time the Vikings drafted a linebacker in the first round was 2014, when they chose Anthony Barr from UCLA. I remember talking with a Vikings official on the sideline at training camp one summer. He looked at Barr and said: “He’s a good, versatile player. If he wants to be a star, he’s going to have to learn how to beat offensive tackles.”

Barr never developed that skill.