Bengals discovered a crazy coincidence after drafting DJ Turner II in Round 2
Odds are, at least one person you knew growing up has made it big in some capacity. The chances of that person being a professional athlete are extremely slim, but hey, they come from somewhere, right? Just north of Atlanta, GA, two different kids grew up with a passion for sports, and made football their […]
Odds are, at least one person you knew growing up has made it big in some capacity. The chances of that person being a professional athlete are extremely slim, but hey, they come from somewhere, right?
Just north of Atlanta, GA, two different kids grew up with a passion for sports, and made football their path to greatness. They were Myles Murphy, and DJ Turner II. Their career arcs have been near parallel lines up until last week when they intersected in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Bengals' first and second-round picks of the draft are set to play together on defense for the next several years, but this is not the first time they will have met. You'd have to go back to their childhoods for that.
Surprising enough, both Murphy and Turner not only grew up next to each other in Georgia, they were friends. The Bengals found this out from Turner's agent, who sent director of pro scouting Steven Radicevic a picture of the two them from way back in the day.
“I got a text from his agent, it was a picture of Myles and DJ when they were kids at a birthday party,” Radicevic said. “They were both friends at this party, standing next to each other. Little did they know they would be drafted in round one and two to the Bengals. It’s crazy how life works sometimes.”
Quite the full circle moment for both of them. Murphy eventually became the No. 1 recruit in the state, while Turner also had his choice of elite programs as a top-40 cornerback in his class. Murphy chose Clemson, and Turner went up north to Michigan to play in back-to-back College Football Playoffs.
And in due time, they'll both be starting together for the same NFL defense. Turner is also former teammates with last year's first-round pick Dax Hill. Turner and Hill played right next to each other throughout Michigan's 2021 season, as Hill was primarily a slot defender for the Wolverines.
Check out the picture of Murphy and Turner in the full article from The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr.
