Dallas Turner, Edge, Alabama
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 247
Arm Length: 34 ⅜
40-Yard Dash: 4.46 seconds
10-Yard Split: 1.54 seconds
3-Cone: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Vertical: 40.5”
Broad Jump: 10’7”
Bench Press: N/A
Pros
- Very good long speed, explosiveness, and length for an edge defender.
- Translates speed to power extremely well when given space.
- Good athleticism to stick to QBs as they try to escape the pocket.
- Has the quickness and agility to beat blockers at the snap.
Cons
- Very unrefined pass rush.
- Easily taken off his rush path.
- Will play down to competition.
- Needs to build more all-around strength.
Notes
- First-team All-SEC in 2023.
- Consensus First-team All-American in 2023.
- Participant at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.
Overview
Overshadowed by former teammate Will Anderson Jr. the past few years at Alabama, Dallas Turner finally had the spotlight on him this past season. While he played well for Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide faithful, was it enough to keep him within top-15 projection?
Watching Turner’s tape, the most noticeable thing was his athleticism. On the edge, he’s extremely explosive and possesses incredible long speed. Turner most often uses his quickness and agility to beat offensive linemen off the snap as his explosiveness is too much for his 300-plus pound opponents. Additionally, Turner was often seen chasing down ball carriers thanks to his 4.4-speed. It’s this type of speed that allowed him to translate speed and acceleration into power as he rushes the passer against offensive tackles that are much larger than him. Lastly, thanks to his athleticism, Turner is more than capable of sticking to ball carriers. While athletic quarterbacks and runningbacks might be able to dance around the average edge defender, the same can’t be said about Dallas Turner.
However, Turner is an incredibly raw player who relies on his natural athleticism more than anything. He can translate speed to power but isn’t someone who will overwhelm you, or knock you off your path with his strength. When only able to get a hand on ball carriers at the line of scrimmage, he typically isn’t strong enough to reel them in singlehandedly. More so, his pass rush is very unrefined. His get off is inconsistent and the use of his hands is almost nonexistent. Furthermore, Turner also will occasionally play down to the competition he’s facing.
At the end of the day, Turner’s athleticism will be too much for a team to pass up. While there will be plenty of work to do with the Alabama product, the reward may outweigh the risk.
My Two Cents
After studying Dallas Turner, it’s clear he plays best when his athleticism is allowed to take over. This typically happens when he’s playing in space. Because of this, I think it’d be wisest for a team to use him more as an OLB rather than a true edge at the line of scrimmage. If a team has this in mind for the Tuscaloosa product, I think a first round selection of him will be more than worth it.
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