Tag: DJ Turner

ProBlue: Who showed out for Michigan on the big stage

Some really great showings from former #Michigan players this week! #GoBlue

NFL Week 5 has officially wrapped up, and it was chock-full of big performances from former Wolverines.

Sadly Nico Collins had a relatively quiet week and dropped out of the top five receiving yards total, but the defensive alum picked up the slack. Aidan Hutchinson was all over social media with his one-handed snag, Mike Danna iced the Chiefs victory with a sack — and plenty more!

Sack leaderboards:

T1: Aidan Hutchinson (4.5)

T1: Rashan Gary (4.5)

3: Mike Danna (3.5)

4: Kwity Paye (3)

5: Josh Uche (2)

Here are the top performances from former Michigan football players in Week 5:

ProBlue: How former Michigan football players fared in NFL Week 3

Some of the guys really balled out! #GoBlue

Michigan has nearly 50 players currently in the NFL. From stars to practice squad members, this weekly series will document the gridiron greatness of former Wolverines.

Michigan’s NFL numbers are focused on the defense, but recent performances from Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones are looking to balance the scales a little more.

Jabrill Peppers has also been facing a bit of a career resurgence after joining the Patriots two seasons ago in free agency. He continues to impress with his versatility and talent up in New England.

Rashan Gary looks to be the next Wolverine to make big money in the NFL. His recovery has gone great and Green Bay should look to lock him up sooner rather than later.

The Wolverines currently have nine first-round picks in the NFL and 19 starters. Here’s how they performed in Week 3 of the 2023 season.

Bengals rookie DJ Turner returns to practice

A rookie enjoying a stong summer is back for the Bengals.

Cincinnati Bengals rookie cornerback DJ Turner returned to practice on Wednesday after missing a brief period of time coming out of the team’s second preseason game.

Turner, a second-round pick this year, has exceeded expectations quite a bit as a general consensus.

Take, for example, his sticky coverage on Ja’Marr Chase last week.

Tuner isn’t projected to be a starter as a rookie with Chidobe Awuzie, Cam Taylor-Britt and Mike Hilton holding down the starting three spots.

But he’s in the mix for immediate snaps in the rotation and the fact he’s been able to put together an almost complete camp with quality showings — against this trio of Bengals wideouts, no less — is a great sign he can live up to some of the expectations that he’ll be a long-term solution alongside Cam Taylor-Britt.

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1 rookie draft pick for each team we’re excited to watch in preseason openers

The NFL preseason fires up this weekend. Here’s one draft pick from each team that Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon is excited to watch.

The NFL preseason kicks into gear this weekend. Between Thursday and Sunday, all 32 NFL teams will have played their exhibition season opener.

It’s the first chance to unleash the rookie draft class against another team. Whether it’s a top pick or a late-round sleeper who has excelled in camp, there are many rookie storylines to watch in each matchup.

Of course, the Browns and Jets already played in the Hall of Fame exhibition last week. In that matchup, we got to see promising fifth-round QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson stand out for the Browns and second-round C Joe Tippman play well for New York in their debuts.

Who will join them as standout rookies in their preseason debuts? Here is one intriguing candidate from each team.

Bengals rookie DJ Turner starting to look like breakout player at camp

The Bengals might have a breakout on their hands with DJ Turner.

Understandably, Cincinnati Bengals second-round pick DJ Turner hasn’t received the same level of attention as first-rounder Myles Murphy since his arrival.

So it seems he’s forcing the spotlight on himself.

Turner’s name has been the one to repeatedly pop up on every single day of Bengals training camp since its opening last week. His stunning athletic profile (5’11” with 4.27 speed and a 38.5-inch vertical, for starters) and football acumen have him making big play after big play.

Commentary from coaches and otherwise only reinforces the idea.

“Very confident guy. He’s competitive, he’s out there trying to make plays, he’s not second-guessing himself,” cornerback coach Charles Burks said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “He gets lined up, he’s understanding his responsibilities. It’s not just his speed. He has a natural ability to feel the receiver. He knows when to make a cut, plays with good angles at the top of the route, and he has a good feel when he’s playing off.”

Here’s quarterback Trevor Siemian with a notable line too, via Hobson: “Quit throwing at No. 20.”

Turner coming along this quickly is a best-case scenario for a Bengals team that will start Cam Taylor-Britt and Mike Hilton at two of the corner spots. Chidobe Awuzie, the No. 1 corner, is all the way back from his season-ending injury already, but coaches might be slow in bringing him along. Turner’s performance and versatility give the defense more options than anticipated, should he keep up this momentum.

One final disclaimer? Training camp is the land of unwarranted hype, where everyone is in the best shape of their career, etc. But a rookie cornerback standing out — not merely getting through a practice — against these Bengals wideouts? That feels like a big deal.

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DJ Turner praises fellow Bengals rookie Charlie Jones after college battle

DJ Turner and Charlie Jones aren’t strangers, to say the least.

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Cincinnati Bengals rookies DJ Turner and Charlie Jones are pretty familiar with one another after some battles in the Big Ten.

Turner, the team’s second-round pick, was Michigan’s versatile star-stopper in the secondary who lined up all over the field.

Jones, a fourth-rounder, was that star out of Purdue.

The two met in the Big Ten championship game, where Turner’s Wolverines won, but Jones popped off with 13 catches for 162 yards.

Turner recalls how Jones would go all over the field and wreak havoc, to say the least.

“He would line up outside, slot, left, right,” Turner said, according to ESPN’s Ben Baby. “It didn’t matter. Wherever he is, you better know where he is. Because if you don’t, it can get bad. Quick.”

This sort of fun perspective on Jones’ abilities explains why he was listed as one of the draft’s bigger steals. And sure, he’s not expected to see major playing time in the base offense, but there’s a reason we immediately called him a likely long-term Tyler Boyd replacement after 2023.

Until then, Jones has made it clear he’s going after returner jobs on special teams, where he’ll hope to have a big impact as a rookie.

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Bengals CB Mike Hilton latest to hype rookie DJ Turner

Bengals CB Mike Hilton is excited to get on the field with DJ Turner.

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It would appear in the aftermath of the 2023 NFL draft that the hype just keeps on growing for Cincinnati Bengals second-round pick DJ Turner.

Turner, the speedy corner from Michigan and former teammate of 2022 first-rounder Dax Hill, continues to get praise from guys inside the organization, especially for how his game will complement the overall unit.

“In this game, speed kills man. You have a DC (defensive coordinator) like Lou (Anarumo) who can dial up stuff up and put guys in position to make plays, it’s big for us on defense,” cornerback Mike Hilton said, according to Mohammad Ahmad of Cleveland.com.

Hilton is especially hyped because Hill told him that Turner will arrive and be able to take a similar approach to the game as he does.

“A guy that can come in there, cover a lot of ground and make a lot of plays. Like I said, with Lou upstairs, I know he’ll put some good stuff together,” Hilton said. “The way he makes plays on the ball, Dax said he can handle similar physicality to me and that’s a great thing to hear.”

It’s not just players in the organization, either — Turner even got a phone call from Bengals modern great Leon Hall.

With Chidobe Awuzie still rehabbing an injury and Anarumo’s creativity with subpackages, Turner could get a very real chance to impact games early and attempt to match some of the hype.

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Bengals’ DJ Turner got call from Leon Hall, hopes to emulate his game

Bengals great Leon Hall gave second-rounder DJ Turner a call after the draft.

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There is a ton of hype around Cincinnati Bengals second-round pick DJ Turner, given his stunning testing numbers and overall fit with the team.

Adding to that hype is the well-established trend of the Bengals getting stellar defensive backs out of Michigan over the years.

The first to come to mind, of course, is modern Bengals great Leon Hall. And it’s Hall who just so happened to reach out to Turner personally after the Bengals picked him, as captured by Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:

“He told me congrats and just let me know when you get in town. Stuff like that,” said Turner who has heard about Hall.

“I heard about his game,” said Turner, who also prides himself on playing both the slot and outside. “That’s how I heard about him. How he could do both.”

Turner joins former Wolverines teammate Dax Hill — the team’s first-rounder last year — as the new long-term leaders in the defensive backfield. It’s a group defined by its raw athleticism and versatility, giving defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo options the same way Mike Zimmer had options with Hall’s group all those years ago.

If the success is anywhere near the same level, Hill and Turner won’t take long to establish themselves as the latest Hall-styled standouts in Cincinnati.

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Bengals draft pick DJ Turner: 5 things to know about 2nd-round pick

Some fun facts about Bengals rookie CB DJ Turner.

Cincinnati Bengals fans couldn’t have been too shocked when the team used a second-round pick in this year’s draft on Michigan cornerback DJ Turner.

Turner had Bengals written all over him compared to the other prospects on the board in the second round. At 5’11” and 178 pounds with a 40-yard dash time of 4.26 seconds and plenty of leadership and production on the resume, the choice was obvious.

Since, Bengals coaches have talked about their big plans for Turner and the pick has outright received an “A+” grade from analysts.

But what about some of the lesser-known facts about Turner? Here are a few things fans might not know about Turner just yet.

DJ Turner joked about reunion with Dax Hill on Bengals

The Bengals turned this joke from DJ Turner and Dax Hill into reality during the draft.

The Cincinnati Bengals have reunited college teammates after the 2023 NFL Draft.

DJ Turner, the Bengals second-round pick this year, and Dax Hill, their first-round pick in 2022 played together at Michigan in college.

Mohammed Ahmad of cleveland.com said that Turner would watch Bengals games every Sunday after Hill was drafted, and they joked about possibly playing in Cincinnati together.

“We were talking about it as ‘(I’m) next one out,’” Turner said, per Ahmad. Man, it’s the best thing ever. It’s going to be (like) the secondary we had back at Michigan. I already talked to him (Hill) and everything. I can’t wait.”

Now that is a reality for the college buddies who will team up again, this time in the Bengals secondary.

When Turner and Hill last played together as Wolverines, they combined for 102 tackles and four interceptions.

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