Bengals: DJ Turner eager to play with Dax Hill again
The Cincinnati Bengals had one thing on their minds during the first two days of the NFL Draft, defense. Edge rusher Myles Murphy kicked off their selections in the first round, giving the Bengals a great piece to mold behind Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard. Cincinnati lost several members of its secondary, so drafting cornerback […]
The Cincinnati Bengals had one thing on their minds during the first two days of the NFL Draft, defense.
Edge rusher Myles Murphy kicked off their selections in the first round, giving the Bengals a great piece to mold behind Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard. Cincinnati lost several members of its secondary, so drafting cornerback DJ Turner out of Michigan in the second round made a ton of sense.
Cincinnati didn't just bring in a great prospect in Turner, they reunited him with an old Michigan teammate. Hill played two years with Bengals' safety Dax Hill who they took in the first round in 2021.
Turner recently spoke with Marisa Contipelli of Bengals.com amd talked about what it means to be on the same field with Hill again.
"I'm so excited. He called me as soon as I got drafted, I talked to him already," Turner said. "I'm excited. It's just crazy that we're back in the same secondary."
After Hill was drafted by the Bengals, Turner would watch Bengals games to keep up with his former Wolverine brother. Even before then, Tuner says that he and Hill joked about reuniting once again to play together.
“We were talking about it as ‘(I’m) next one out,’” Turner said, per Mohammed Ahmad of Cleveland.com. "Man, it’s the best thing ever. It’s going to be (like) the secondary we had back at Michigan. I already talked to him (Hill) and everything. I can’t wait.”
Turner was expected to go anywhere within the first two rounds. Once other big names like Christian Gonzalez and Deonte Banks took a while to get selected it was clear that the second round was more realistic for when Turner would hear his name called.
As the picks kept rolling on and Turner remained on the board, Hill had a hunch that a reunion was going to happen.
"I did," Hill said. "A few coaches asked me about him throughout the process, and I kind of put two and two together. I was watching the draft as well. He wasn't off the board. So I kind of put two and two together, and kind of made my assumptions, and my assumptions were true. So I'm glad that that played out."
The last time Turner and Hill played on the same defense in 2021 they each had success. Turner tallied 33 tackles, two interceptions, seven pass breakups, and a defensive touchdown while Hill was a named first-team All-Big Ten after he produced 69 tackles, two interceptions, eight pass breakups, and a fumble recovery.
Depending on what happens with Chidobe Awuzie and his rehab from a torn ACL, and if Hill can take the next step in his development, he and Turner could be back making plays together in 2023.
