DJ Turner Scouting Report

By: Michael Higgins

(Image courtesy of John Fisher/Getty Images)

School: Michigan (Senior)

Position: CB

HT: 6’0

WT: 181 lbs

Sideline Prospect Ranking: #56

DJ Turner is an athletic cornerback with a lot of physical ability and traits that make him an impressive playmaker in the secondary. Turner was a 3-star recruit out of Florida, where he attended IMG Academy. His experience at IMG Academy allowed him to play against the top competition in the country and prepared him for his time at Michigan.

In terms of his play at Michigan, Turner has been the big dog in the Wolverines’ secondary ever since he became a starter. Turner has loose hips and quick feet that keep him glued to receivers on a variety of different route trees. This circles back to his athleticism, where he shows the ability to accelerate quickly, keep stride at top speed, and stop on a dime with fantastic change-of-direction. Turner is effective in a variety of coverages. He was mainly put in a soft man coverage at Michigan but also succeeded in coverage. With how well he was able to go stride for stride with receivers, he projects well as a press man corner as well. There is not a coverage scheme that would highlight weaknesses in Turner’s game. Turner is very technical and that shows in his coverage versatility. He is able to take up a third of the field in a Cover 3, while he is also able to play any style of press man coverage. When covering go routes, Turner displays loose hips and turns on the burners to stick with the receiver. Turner is able to look back at the ball and make a play, rather than getting grabby and locking eyes onto the receiver. DJ Turner is also a more than willing tackler. He loves being physical and making his presence felt on the field any chance he can get.

With all the positives to DJ Turner, there are some negatives to be mindful of. Turner is quite thin, even for a corner. He will definitely need to put on some muscle if he wants to compete with those big X receivers that every team has at least one of. While Turner is able to lock in on the ball, he hasn’t been able to have much of any ball production. Only 1 pass defended and one interception on the season for Turner despite being CB1 all season.

DJ Turner is a lockdown cornerback for the Wolverines who is scheme versatile and can play both on the boundary and in the slot. If he adds muscle and gets himself in position to make more plays on the football, he will be successful at the next level.

Scheme Fit: Scheme Versatile

Ideal Role: Nickel CB

Best Team Fits: CLE, MIA, SEA

Player Comparison: Taron Johnson

Player Grade: 78.6