In the passing-driven NFL, teams are always on the look out for edge rushers who can get after quarterbacks and produce drive-killing sacks. While the 2024 NFL Draft does not look especially strong in terms of edge-rush talent, one player who has helped himself this season is Alabama junior edge rusher Dallas Turner. Across from Will Anderson Jr. in 2022 and 2021, Turner recorded 8.5 sacks and four sacks, respectively. Entering Saturday’s game against LSU, Turner has eight sacks, 34 tackles and two forced fumbles this season. Turner has shown explosive speed off the edge with a nose for the quarterback in 2023.
To quote a team source who was with the Carolina Panthers when they selected Burns in 2019.
“[Turner] reminds me of [Brian] Burns …. When we drafted Burns, everybody could see that he was lightning fast off of the edge, but the big knock on Burns was his run defense, and that’s why we got him at 16. Dallas plays the run better than Burns did at FSU. Dallas plays physical for a leaner guy.”
Turner’s size and his run defense could be the areas in in which he receives the most scrutiny leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft. Turner is listed at 6-foot-4, 245 pounds, which is undersized for a pro edge defender. However, the comparison to Burns relaxes that concern. At the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine, Burns checked in at 6-foot-4, 249 pounds, which was just only a few pounds heavier than Turner’s listed numbers. Burns has turned into one of the best pass rushers in the NFL and is not a liability as a run defender. Like Burns, the ultra-fast pass rusher Turner looks destined to be a first-round pick in his draft class.
