DJ Turner II’s reaction to being snubbed from the Pro Bowl is exactly what the Bengals want to hear
Bengals cornerback DJ Turner is locked in regardless of his Pro Bowl status.
Cincinnati Bengals cornerback DJ Turner II was announced as a third alternate for the 2026 Pro Bowl Games, but the numbers say he had a tremendous case for actually making the AFC roster.
Joe Burrow even had his back.
“I thought DJ should have made the Pro Bowl,” Burrow said Wednesday. “But I told him the other day, usually the first year that you should make it, you’re typically an alternate. If you stack that year, they give it to the next year. It happened to me, and you kind of see that across the league.”
Turner has had a definitive breakout season. The former second-round pick from the 2023 NFL Draft fluctuated as a starter during his first two seasons. He had to fight a training camp battle to become a starter out the gate this year and technically lost that battle. He didn’t start Week 1, but he kept fighting and has played and produced like one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL.
And Turner knows it.
DJ Turner II is locked in after his Pro Bowl snub
Burrow may have a point about timing, but what matters to Turner is the evidence he’s put on tape.
“I mean, there’s nothing you can say about it,” Turner told Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson. “You can say that. But I’m going at it regardless. It’s all right. They can’t take away my film. My film is my film whether I make the Pro Bowl or not. That’s how I look at it.”
It’s tough to lead the league in passes defensed and allow fewer than 50% of targets in coverage completed without quality film to back it up. Turner has been a consistent asset for the Bengals’ defensive backfield that has seen plenty of change along with peaks and valleys.
Cincinnati needs him to stay that way if the defense is to continue improving. The Bengals ranked dead-last in EPA/play and success rate allowed during the first 12 weeks of the season, but the defense has been a top-14 unit in both metrics over the last four weeks.
Turner had a strong case to make his first Pro Bowl, but a little motivation entering next year doesn’t hurt. It sounds like he’s got the right attitude on how to progress, and can prove Burrow’s words to be clairvoyant in a year’s time.
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