The 2023 NFL Draft cornerback class units the stage for a fierce competitors for draft capital this April. However nearly no CB can compete with Michigan’s DJ Turner on the subject of explosiveness, restoration pace, and untapped potential. Does Turner deserve early-round — and possibly first-round — consideration? Right here’s a glance.
DJ Turner NFL Draft Profile
Place: Cornerback
College: Michigan
Present Yr: Redshirt Junior
Top/Weight: 5’11”, 178 kilos
Size: 30 3/4″
Hand: 9 5/8″
The Michigan Wolverines are quietly considered one of faculty soccer’s extra dependable faculties on the subject of producing high quality NFL defensive again expertise.
Latest Wolverines courses have churned out gamers like Jabrill Peppers, Jourdan Lewis, Ambry Thomas, and 2022 first-round decide Daxton Hill. And in two years, we’ll be speaking about Will Johnson — and possibly WR-CB convert Amorion Walker — as the subsequent massive issues.
Within the meantime, nonetheless, the main target is on Turner — a former four-star recruit who morphed right into a high-level playmaker over his time in Ann Arbor. In the event you watched Hill on tape within the 2022 NFL Draft cycle, it was not possible to overlook Turner. His pure protection abilities pop off the display, and in 2022, his sport took an additional leap.
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After accruing two interceptions and 7 go deflections in 2021, Turner put up a pick-six and 10 go deflections within the 2022 marketing campaign. On the NFL Mix, he compounded that ahead momentum with a position-best 4.26 40-yard sprint, in addition to a 1.47 10-yard cut up, a 38.5″ vertical, and a ten’11” broad leap.
These numbers already confirmed what we knew about Turner’s athleticism from the 2022 Feldman’s Freaks listing. On prime of his pace and explosiveness, he’s additionally rumored to have a legendary 6.29 three-cone time. The numbers emphasize Turner’s upside, however on the sector, how does all of it translate?
DJ Turner Scouting Report
Turner has a variety of elite traits to construct his sport round, and people traits afford him uncommon potential and flexibility on the subsequent degree.
Turner’s Positives
As his testing numbers point out, Turner brings an especially interesting model of mobility to the fold. He has hyper-elite short-area explosiveness and pace, and along with his dynamic athleticism at 5’11”, 178 kilos, he can shut gaps within the blink of an eye fixed.
On the boundary, Turner is extremely explosive. He can simply flip and run with receivers, accelerating upfield shortly, and reveals wonderful accelerative capability when flipping upfield in press-bail. The Michigan CB gears up immediately out of transitions with fast strides, and he flashes very good preliminary burst when closing on screens. Not solely does Turner have an amazing prime pace, however he additionally reaches that prime pace in a short time.
Turner doesn’t at all times play to his 4.26 40-yard sprint, however pace is a particular power on tape — deserving of the elite moniker. Turner routinely runs with receivers upfield, and he’s nearly not possible to stack when he instances his transitions successfully. His restoration pace additionally reveals up when clamping down on in-breaking routes and comebacks or when he loses a step off the road.
Previous his pace and explosiveness, Turner’s short-area athleticism is what actually completes his bodily profile. The Michigan CB has the hip fluidity to stack path adjustments and doesn’t get tied up after preliminary transitions. He performs pretty low in his stance and might pivot round effortlessly. Going additional, he has a clean backpedal and might simply flip outdoors with out shedding pace. Most notably, Turner has proven to sink his hips and swivel round on 90-degree transitions with ease, carrying acceleration by way of transitions.
Maybe probably the most interesting trait of Turner’s — much more than his pace — is his twitch and power as a mover. He’s an amped-up short-area athlete who throttles up and down at will in press protection to stay to WRs. Along with his short-area athleticism and tenacity, the Michigan CB sticks to receivers at stems upfield. He’s additionally in a position to shortly regulate pursuit angles and carry acceleration by way of transitions.
Turner’s phenomenal corrective foot pace permits him to match off the road with ease. He’s a spry, light-footed lateral mover who covers a number of floor with lateral bursts.
It’s one factor to have the instruments however one other to complement them with correct method. Turner is on his approach right here as properly. Whereas he’s lighter, Turner has proven he can use focused physicality. He often makes use of fast hand jabs to disrupt and delay receivers. However he’s additionally not overeager in utilizing his fingers earlier than his ft. Turner can wait to jam till WRs enter his wheelhouse, displaying persistence and self-discipline.
Increasing on Turner’s method, the Michigan CB has quick ft on the line and matches WRs along with his fleet-footed type. He can flip outdoors after which snap again shortly to suffocate breaks again to the ball. Furthermore, Turner can play catch method and shortly flip his hips upfield to maintain acceleration. He easily transitions from backpedal to hold whereas protecting pace, displaying malleability in off-man.
Shifting on, Turner additionally reveals nice zone consciousness and constantly retains issues in entrance of him. The Michigan CB can each match patterns and preserve his eyes on the QB to decipher intent and place himself accordingly. He’s proven to course of shortly in press, and he stays well-leveraged and flips his hips as quickly as he sees WRs commit. This technical flooring, mixed along with his mobility, permits him to play outdoors and within the slot.
Turner’s processing is prevalent each in man and zone. In man protection, he’s proven he can key in on WRs’ hips downfield to reply shortly to breaks. On scramble drills, Turner retains his eyes towards the QB, staying able to strike on the catch level. He has the attention to course of route ideas and establish beneath routes in zone. Moreover, he can peel off receivers when QBs throw quick amidst strain, and he can break again and assault the ball in protection.
General, Turner has an pressing, alert playstyle that serves as an outstanding complement to his pure athleticism in protection. That aggressive power additionally extends to playmaking conditions, the place Turner actively fights on the catch level, performs by way of the catch course of, and reveals good ball-tracking capability.
Lastly, in run help, Turner shows utility as properly. The Michigan CB can acknowledge display formations and have interaction shortly along with his elite closing pace, and he has pressing power in run help. Turner actively fights blocks, can swipe down anchors and clear contact along with his lateral and straight-line burst, and he’s proven he can wrap up as a tackler coming downhill. He’s very laborious to flee in pursuit as a consequence of his pace.
Turner’s Areas for Enchancment
Turner isn’t a legal responsibility when it comes to measurement, however he’s barely below-average general. He has respectable size, however he weighed in at 178 kilos on the NFL Mix, and his taking part in weight might max out within the 180s. It comes as no shock that play power will be a problem, particularly in run help when participating blocks and trying solo tackles.
Other than his lighter weight, Turner doesn’t have many concentrated weaknesses. As an alternative, minor notes are peppered throughout his report. Whereas the Michigan CB is fluid, he generally struggles to shrink himself and sink his hips successfully on in-breaking routes. Moreover, he can get too grabby when trying to stay to WRs out of transitions. He generally depends an excessive amount of on two-hand jams, which may lock out his hips.
Going additional, Turner sometimes turns his again to large receivers on transitions, permitting them alternatives to control blind spots. His response time will be inconsistent, each when studying QBs in zone and when matching receivers in press-man protection. He’s additionally sometimes caught off guard when WRs break inside.
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The Michigan CB does have some wasted movement along with his ft at instances when responding to stems, and people additional steps can delay his response. There are occasions when he drifts too far upfield and fails to remain sq., giving WRs area to use. Moreover, Turner’s pads sometimes drift too excessive in his stance.
In run help, Turner generally fails to wrap up on the deal with level, enabling runners to remain on their ft. His margin for error from a technical standpoint is smaller along with his lighter body. Moreover, Turner can, at instances, be drawn off screens by close by routes, and he generally gravitates to deeper routes when assist is on the market deep, leaving screens uncovered.
Equally, Turner might afford to take higher angles downhill. He generally has to appropriate his angle mid-response, stalling his momentum and giving runners additional time.
Present Draft Projection for Michigan CB DJ Turner
On my board, Turner grades simply outdoors the highest 50 within the 2023 NFL Draft class. He’s a top-10 CB prospect in a really sturdy positional group. And taking his scheme versatility and alignment flexibility under consideration, he’s value consideration as early as late Spherical 1 and early Spherical 2.
With Turner, you have got lots of the crucial constructing blocks for efficient island protection. In man protection, Turner has extremely quick ft, fluid hips, and spectacular self-discipline for his method. He often makes use of ft first and has the twitchy, high-speed athleticism in shut quarters to maintain large receivers in entrance of him always. He additionally has the restoration pace to make up floor at any time when he must.
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In the meantime, in zone protection, Turner manages area, processes routes, and passes off and carries receivers as properly. He can nonetheless try for extra consistency along with his response quickness, however the basis is there for Turner to be a scheme-versatile starter on the boundary with slot capabilities. Moreover, Turner’s high-end explosiveness and restoration pace widen his margin of error, and his aggressive mentality solely strengthens his attraction.
Turner’s weight may very well be a problem on the subsequent degree, particularly in run help. However for his measurement, he’s a chippy competitor who doesn’t again down from contact conditions. And in the end, his high-energy playstyle and elite burst/pace mixture make him very laborious to separate from. So long as he can preserve refining his psychological sport, Turner has influence starter upside.
