Tag: DJ Turner

WATCH: Gardner Minshew drives Raiders for touchdown on pretty throw to DJ Turner

WATCH: Gardner Minshew drives Raiders for touchdown on pretty throw to DJ Turner

Aidan O’Connell got the ball first and put on a show, leading the Raiders 83 yards down the field on 15 plays. But it would end with a field goal after a sack on third-and-goal.

The plan was for Gardner Minshew to play the second quarter. And when Jack Jones picked off Vikings QB JJ McCarthy, Minshew day began.

Minshew had a tough act to follow after O’Connell completed seven of nine passes for 76 yards.

The veteran Minshew had a long completion to Tre Tucker to get things started. Then he followed up a high incompletion for Kristian Wilkerson by tucking it and running for the first down.

Then he finished it off with a gorgeous pass to DJ Turner for the score.

Turner has been…turning some heads in camp and he showed why right there.

As for the QB competition, those two drives still put them pretty much neck-and-neck. Good to see it because of both playing well.

Raiders 2024 camp position battle: Return specialist

New special teams rules makes for a very interesting battle for Raiders return specialists.

Kick returns this season are going to be a whole new experience. One that may require a whole new breed of return specialists. Punt returns should stay relatively the same. But there could still be a battle for who gets that job this season.

The new kickoff rules are such that neither team moves until the ball lands. So, there will be no running start for the coverage team. That means the previous ideas of what a kick returner will look like have changed.

It becomes a new job with a new set of skills that should be more akin to that of a running back than a speedy wide receiver or cornerback as was previously most common. Though some receivers could also thrive in this role. There are a lot of unknowns and therefore a position truly up for grabs.

For that reason, I can’t do a simple player vs player here.

A topic of discussion when the team drafted Dylan Laube in the sixth round of April’s draft was that perhaps his skillset would translate perfectly to the new kick return duties. We shall see.

Second year receiver Tre Tucker would figure to be the favorite for the punt returner job. Others who fielded punts in minicamp included Tyreik McAllister, Ameer Abdullah, Tulu Griffin, DJ Turner, and Nate Hobbs.

My take:

I must say, I don’t have one. Mainly because I don’t think the Raiders have one just yet. The rule is so new that there is a lot still to figure out. Each team’s special teams coordinator will have their own ideas of how to best attack the new rule. Who they like handling those duties will change as their plans change.

In the meantime, special teams may actually be something worth watching in camp and preseason this year. The hope being that there are fewer touchbacks and therefore kick returns become a bigger part of the game than they were before.

Bengals asked DJ Turner about team’s 2 Michigan draft picks

The Bengals got some insider info on Michigan prospects they picked.

The Cincinnati Bengals didn’t hesitate to ask cornerback DJ Turner about a couple of guys from his Michigan playing days before the 2024 NFL draft.

As it turns out, the Bengals got intel on both second-round pick Kris Jenkins and fourth-round tight end Erick All.

All, a big-upside tight end despite his medical history, was Turner’s teammate with the Wolverines before transferring to Iowa.

According to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com, Turner had high praise for Jenkins’ leadership, but also wasn’t shocked to find out that All was working out when the Bengals called him during the draft itself.

“That’s such an Erick All (thing),” Turner said. “He’s one of the hardest working dudes I ever met … He was a captain of our team and was a first-round tight end. We always said that.”

It isn’t uncommon for the team to ask current players about incoming rookies, so this doesn’t come as a shock. But someone like Turner signing off on both guys, or so to speak, is a notable part of the process again for roster construction during the Zac Taylor era.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 15 rout of Chargers

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 14 route of Chargers

What an insane game this was. Four days earlier, the Raiders were shut out 3-0 by the Vikings. Then they come out in this one and not only score a touchdown on their opening drive, not only score 21 points in the first quarter, not only go up 42-0 in the first half, not only scored 49 points before the Chargers scored for the first time, but scored a franchise record 63 points in a 63-21 trouncing of the Chargers.

That was one heck of a run-on sentence.

So, you might just see a heavy dose of Ballers this week. I wasn’t even sure there’d be a Buster, but in the end I found one. But just one.

Bengals rookie DJ Turner praises veteran teammates for his great debut

DJ Turner says he couldn’t make it happen without Hilton, Chido and others.

Cincinnati Bengals rookie cornerback DJ Turner has been one of the bigger surprises of the season so far.

Shoved into a starting role after veteran Chidobe Awuzie dealt with a back injury early in the season, Turner has been involved in quite a few big plays and held up well in coverage.

The results have been encouraging and paint a good picture for the long-term status of the secondary for him across from Cam Taylor-Britt.

But ask Turner? He attributes much of his success to the veterans in the room who have helped him get to this point, as he made sure to highlight in a video from the Bengals on social media:

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Social media takes issue with Diontae Johnson’s “effort” on Jaylen Warren’s fumble

Many people were unamused by Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson’s “effort” on Jaylen Warren’s fumble.

So, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had quite the week. After the got themselves embarrassed by the Cleveland Browns last Sunday, head coach Mike Tomlin made the wise decision to fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada. But the aftereffects of Pittsburgh’s broken offense were also clear. Right after that game, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, receiver Diontae Johnson got into a “heated argument” with safety Minkah Fitzpatrick that teammates Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt had to break up.

Evidently, Johnson’s fight didn’t extend to the Steelers’ Sunday game against the Cincinnati Bengals. With 4:45 left in the first quarter, running back Jaylen Warren fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by Bengals cornerback DJ Turner.

Now, at the top of the screen, you’ll notice that Johnson is in a fake screen look, and he doesn’t even appear to be aware of the fumble happening right next to him. Which allowed Turner to pick up the ball and return it 28 yards to the Cincinnati 11-yard line.

Not great, and social media had all kinds of things to say about it.

Bengals’ DJ Turner tops among rookie CBs in impressive stat

Bengals rookie cornerback DJ Turner is on a quick rise.

Cincinnati Bengals rookie cornerback DJ Turner was one of our big stock risers by the bye week for good reason.

The second-round pick has had to step up big already just a few games into his NFL debut, in large part due to an injury suffered by No. 1 corner Chidobe Awuzie.

Turner has been largely great in the process, with some highlight plays as a tackler in open space.

And as Pro Football Focus just pointed out, Turner actually paces all rookies with the lowest passer rating allowed in coverage so far.

We’ll see if that impressive spot holds, but it’s a great sign for Turner already:

So far in the secondary, most of the attention has gone to Cam Taylor-Britt’s breakout and rightfully so. But Turner isn’t far behind in impressiveness — which paints a pretty good picture of the long-term future of that secondary unit.

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After weeks of practice squad elevations CB Tyler Hall finally signed to Raiders active roster

After weeks of practice squad elevations CB Tyler Hall finally signed to Raiders active roster

Today the Raiders made what seemed like an inevitable move — they signed cornerback Tyler Hall to the active roster.

It seemed like it was bound to happen simply because despite spending much of this season on the team’s practice squad, he was called up to the active roster the past three weeks and even started the past two games; both wins. Last week he played a career-high 46 snaps (77%).

Hall had appeared in seven of the team’s final eight games last season including three starts and showed up well. Not for nothing, the Raider have won four of his five starts.

The fourth year cornerback bided his time this season after being waived at the final cutdown and re-signing to the practice squad. Now after six weeks he is getting the call to officially sign onto the roster. I mean, he was pretty much already doing it anyway.

In a corresponding move, the Raiders placed DB Roderic Teamer on injured reserve. They replaced Hall’s spot on the practice squad by bringing back TE John Samuel-Shenker.

The team also brought back WR DJ Turner and CB Sam Webb onto the practice squad.

ProBlue: Five best performances from Michigan alum in Week 6

Great week for former Wolverines! #GoBlue

This is one of the best seasons for NFL Michigan athletes in recent memory. Daxton Hill, D.J. Turner, Nico Collins, Josh Metellus, and many more are finally breaking out, Hutchinson looks like a game-wrecker — and the Lions are actually good!

Michigan will be a defense-heavy school for the near future. Nico Collins is the first (and only) offensive player to make the prestigious award. Next year’s draft might shake some things up, but the Wolverines will always be a dangerous team.

Take a look at my five best player performances from former Wolverines who excelled in an exciting Week 6 of the NFL.

Bengals rookie DJ Turner ready for anything after practice vs. Chase, Higgins, Boyd

DJ Turner says the learning curve is against Chase, Higgins, Boyd — not other team’s WRs.

One of the more quietly impressive players for the Cincinnati Bengals during last week’s win over the Arizona Cardinals was rookie cornerback DJ Turner.

Turner, a second-round pick, got thrown to the proverbial wolves with top corner Chidobe Awuzie out. He posted multiple impressive plays in the running game and otherwise.

Now, Turner might have to see notable work again with the Seattle Seahawks, but he says he’s more than ready.

He practices against one of the league’s best trios, after all.

“A lot of times the big learning curve for a rookie comes in the games,” Turner said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “When it comes to the Bengals, I’m not going to see three better receivers and the quarterback we have. My learning curve could have happened in camp. I’ve gone up against Ja’Marr Chase, I’ve gone up against Tee Higgins, I’ve gone up against Tyler Boyd. I’ve seen Joe Burrow. It’s really helped me mentally to where in games I see it harder in practice. That’s a blessing.”

This isn’t just praising teammates for the sake of praising teammates — most defenders would sink or swim after practicing against this offense all summer (yes, Joe Burrow is often unavailable in the summers so far, but the point still stands, especially for defensive backs).

It’s an underrated element that has helped both sides of the ball for the Bengals over the last few years and no, Turner shouldn’t be too surprised by what he sees from the Seahawks on Sunday.

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