DJ Turner to Bengals with 60th pick

With the 60th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals have selected Michigan Wolverines cornerback DJ Turner.

The 5-foot-11, 178-pound Turner was one of the fastest players in the entire 2023 draft class, logging a 4.26 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. His 97 athleticism score at NFL.com is the second-best of any cornerback in this draft.

This past season at Michigan, Turner was a Second-Team All-Big Ten pick after recording 36 tackles, 10 pass deflections, one interception, and one fumble recovery for a touchdown in 14 games.

Coming into Day 2, cornerback was easily one of the Bengals’ biggest needs, and Turner was someone projected to go in Round 1 within several mock drafts. A few actually had Turner to Cincy in Round 1, so this is another great value pick.

Making this pick even better is that it was announced by Bengals legend A.J. Green.

Here is Turner’s NFL.com draft profile from Lance Zierlein, which includes a comparison to Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Avonte Maddox.

Explosive athlete combining fluidity, speed and superior technique to excel at his craft. Turner is scheme-diverse with the ability to line up inside or outside in coverage. He’s graceful with his mirror and match movements from press or off-man coverage, but he is plenty feisty when challenging throws or hitting receivers after the catch. Despite his competitiveness, big receivers can bounce him around and beat him on 50/50 balls. Turner has the tools and talent to become an early starter as a nickel corner capable of matching up with both shifty and speedy opponents.

Strengths

• Explosive athlete with rare speed and change-of-direction quickness.
• Hips and feet to mirror and match route from start to finish.
• Good eye balance between quarterback and the route.
• Trusts his technique and rarely reaches with his hands.
• Flips hips quickly to match breaks or chase verticals.
• Smooth stop-and-start to phase double moves.
• Squeezes tight to receiver when phasing deep routes.
• Rarely out of position to challenge or close on the throw.
• Loves to run up for hits after the catch.

Weaknesses

• Can be knocked around by physical route runners.
• Lack of length limits effectiveness contesting deep balls.
• Could have trouble holding up against larger ball-winners in the pros.
• Frequently forced into grab-and-drag tackling.
• Fails to come to balance with timing as tackler after catch.

The Bengals’ remaining top draft needs are:

RB, TE, DT, S.

Bengals Draft Picks 2023

• Round 1 (28) - Clemson DE Myles Murphy
• Round 2 (60) - Michigan CB DJ Turner
• Round 3 (92)
• Round 4 (131)
• Round 5 (163)
• Round 6 (206)
• Round 7 (246)

Day 2 NFL Draft schedule: 7 pm ET, Friday, April 28th

How to watch the NFL Draft: For TV coverage, there’s the NFL Network, ABC, ESPN, and ESPN Deportes. For an online stream, go with YouTube TV, Hulu+ Live TV, Fubo TV, and Sling TV.

Here’s a link to the full NFL Draft order and live draft tracker!

Now, what are your thoughts on the new Bengals draftee? Let us know in the comments section!

And WHO DEY!!