DJ Turner 

Pos: CB

School: Michigan

Ht. 5’11″ 

Wt. 174

Games Watched: Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue

One Liner: Nuanced and athletic corner who wins with elite speed, quality technique and competitive toughness

Strengths: 

  • Elite play speed. DJ Turner was the fastest player at the Combine this year, clocking in with 4.26 speed in the 40. This speed is demonstrated on tape as he is not only fast but is quick when making plays breaking out of zone or coming downfield. 
  • Very good fluidity. Turner is not only an explosive athlete, but also one who has fluid and greased hips with excellent body control. 
  • Very good footwork. Turner has no wasted steps in his reps, and mirrors receivers due to quick feet
  • Very good motor. Turner displays a consistently high motor, putting in extra effort to tackle ball carriers, or attack downfield
  • Very good versatility. At Turner’s size, he is a surefire slot/inside corner option, but he did a fine job on the outside against guys like Marvin Harrison and Parker Washington.
  • Very good physicality. Turner plays with aggressive hands in press man situations and doesn’t shy away from making contact at the catch point.

Weaknesses:

  • Poor frame. Turner has a slight frame that doesn’t have a lot of bulk to it. This hurt him in 50/50 situations.
  • Adequate tackling technique. While Turner displays solid hand and arm strength, I would like to see him tackle with better technique at the next level so he can apply his physicality in the running game.

Overall Assessment: There is not nearly enough hype for DJ Turner right now. He is a smaller corner, but he is one of the more technically refined corners to come out of college in the past few years. Combine this elite technique with his lightning fast speed and athleticism and DJ Turner was a lockdown corner last year for Michigan. His frame may hold him back as a nickel corner until he adds some bulk and refines his tackling angles to be a full time press man boundary corner. Teams drafting Turner get a pro-ready, immediate impact player that can be a Day 1 NFL contributor on the field.

Pro Comp:

Scheme Fit: Zone nickel corner until he adds some bulk

Pick Projection: Late 1st – Mid 2nd

Grade: 6.53