DJ Turner, CB Michigan: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Turner was a four-star recruit from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. in the class of 2019

Michigan cornerback DJ Turner has gone overlooked in the 2023 NFL Draft’s elite cornerback class, but he deserves a spot among the top 50 selections. Turner is an undersized and lean defender, but he’s a twitchy, elite athlete.

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DJ Turner, CB Michigan: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Senior outside cornerback from Suwanee, Ga.

Background: Turner was a four-star recruit from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. in the class of 2019. He was the No. 400 recruit (three-star) according to 247Sports and No. 369 (four-star) for On3.com. Turner was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals. ESPN ranked him 274th (four-star) in the nation with an 81 grade out of 100. He attended North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, Ga. before attending IMG Academy. In 2017, Turner helped North Gwinnett to a 14-1 record and the GHSA Class AAAAAAA State Championship. He was the Defensive Player of the Game in the state championship. As a high school senior at IMG Academy, Turner amassed 17 tackles, three tackles for loss, four passes defensed, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery. He produced 78 tackles, eight tackles for loss, nine passes defensed, and two interceptions during his junior year at North Gwinnett. Turner earned All-County, All-Region, and All-State honors in 2017. He committed to Michigan over Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Penn State, Tennessee, and other Power Five programs. Turner was born on Nov. 9, 2000.

2022 Production: 14 games, 36 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception, 10 passes defensed, 1 defensive touchdown

2021 Production: 14 games, 33 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 2 interceptions, 7 passes defensed, 1 defensive touchdown

2020 Production: 4 games

2019 Production: 4 games

Injuries & Off-Field: N/A

Awards: 2021 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten, 2022 Second-Team All-Big Ten (Coaches), 2022 Third-Team All-Big Ten (Media)

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, silky smooth speed in the open field, quick with excellent closing burst, twitchy with elite reactionary quickness, long speed to stick with burners, excellent recovery speed and agility, loose and fluid hips, appears to have acceptable arm length, elite pursuit speed, squeezes outside releases along the sideline, doesn’t mind getting physical mid-route, reads the quarterback’s eyes, examples of elite play and route recognition, baits throws in zone, jumps routes in man and zone, great timing to disrupt things at the catch point, flashes of landing a stiff one-handed punch in press, shows patience early in the stem to mirrors receivers before getting in phase, sticky at the top of stems, quick footwork, quick and low backpedal, impressive ball skills, quick to trigger on short routes and screens, willing to attack and blow up screens, willing tackler who wraps up and drags down larger players, capable of landing hard hits with a head of steam

Cons: Four penalties in 2021 and 2022, undersized with a lean build, possible slot-only option for some teams, only minor experience operating in the slot, could face problems at the catch point against larger opponents, lacks vertical leap to challenge taller receivers, sometimes looks indecisive in zone, gets too grabby, doesn’t always get his head around for the ball, occasionally bites on shoulder/hip fakes, punches in press have inconsistent timing and accuracy, a few dropped interceptions, allows more separation at the tops of routes than expected, footwork can be inefficient, not immune to missed tackles, struggles to shed blocks in the run game, doesn’t show upside as a blitzer, not consistently quick to trigger downhill against the run, pursuit angles are too steep

Overview: Turner is unofficially listed at 6'0", 180 lbs. Michigan’s latest star defensive back is battle tested. In 2022, he drew assignments against current or future NFL prospects Jacob Copeland, Dontay Demus Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Marvin Harrison Jr., Quentin Johnston, Charlie Jones, Jayden Reed, Mitchell Tinsley, and Parker Washington. Turner takes significant experience and proficiency in man and zone coverages to the NFL. He lines up to the boundary and field sides of the defense. Turner appears most comfortable in man coverage when he’s lined up at or near the line of scrimmage. He displays silky smooth speed in the open field with elite closing burst and pursuit speed. Turner’s speed allows him to stick with burners and recover if he surrenders a step near the line of scrimmage. His twitch and quick reactions cause problems for offenses hoping to throw shorter routes. The former four-star recruit has loose and fluid hips that don’t restrict his movements. He appears to have acceptable but not elite arm length for a cornerback. Turner squeezes outside releases along the sideline and doesn’t mind getting physical mid-route. There are examples on his tape of high-end play and route recognition. Turner baits quarterbacks into throws when he’s sitting in zone and frequently jumps routes to make plays on the ball. He’s excellent at reading the quarterback’s eyes and timing his actions to disrupt plays at the catch point without drawing flags. There are flashes of Turner landing a stiff one-handed punch in press coverage, but he prefers to show patience early in the stem. This helps him mirror the receiver’s release before getting in phase and remaining attached for the rest of the play. Turner is sticky at the top of routes. He plays with quick footwork and a low backpedal. The IMG Academy product is quick to trigger on short routes and screens. He’s a willing tackler who blows up screens and lands some hard hits with a head of steam. Most of the time he wraps up and drags down ball carriers. Turner appeared on Bruce Feldman’s 2022 Freaks List. The cornerback clocks up to 23.07 miles per hour on the GPS and runs a 4.28 40-time. Feldman also credited Turner with running a 6.29 three-cone last offseason. For reference, Zyon McCollum ran the fastest three-cone at the 2022 NFL Combine at 6.48 seconds. The Combine’s three-cone record is 6.28 seconds.

While Turner has impressive ball skills, he let a few potential interceptions escape his grasp over the last two years. The senior defensive back is undersized with a lean build. He’s likely smaller than his listed size (6'0", 180 lbs.) on Michigan’s website. It’s possible some NFL teams only view him as a slot option, which is a role Turner doesn’t have much experience filling. He could face problems at the catch point against larger opponents because of his limited vertical leap and size. Turner still looks indecisive in zone coverage at times. He gets grabby, especially when he bites on the wide receiver's shoulder or hip fakes. The All-Big Ten cornerback doesn’t always get his head around for the ball. His punches in press coverage have inconsistent timing and accuracy. Turner allows more separation at the tops of routes than expected. Correcting some inefficient footwork should fix this issue. Teams can’t expect too much support from him in the run game. Turner struggles to shed blocks and isn’t always quick to trigger downhill against the run. He takes steep pursuit angles and isn’t immune to missed tackles.

Overall, Turner is a small but twitchy cornerback with good technique and exciting athletic ability that should make him an asset in man coverage. The Michigan product falls short of earning first round consideration in this loaded cornerback class, but he’s worth a top-50 selection. The only concern is if teams believe Turner can hold up as a full-time outside corner.

Role & Scheme Fit: Outside corner in a man-heavy scheme – possible slot corner

Round Projection: Early Second to Late Second

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 01-23-23