Bengals' Mike Hilton is all in on DJ Turner's speedy skillset
It wasn't too long ago that nickel cornerback Mike Hilton was one of the new faces in town. Signed three days after Chidobe Awuzie in the 2021 offseason, Hilton had an instant impact on the Cincinnati Bengals' culture and productivity. As it stands now, Hilton and Awuzie are the lone starters from Week 1 of […]
It wasn't too long ago that nickel cornerback Mike Hilton was one of the new faces in town. Signed three days after Chidobe Awuzie in the 2021 offseason, Hilton had an instant impact on the Cincinnati Bengals' culture and productivity.
As it stands now, Hilton and Awuzie are the lone starters from Week 1 of last year remaining in the secondary. Jessie Bates III, Vonn Bell, and Eli Apple are all out the door in one form or another as the team has went all out to make the defensive backfield younger and faster.
Young and fast is precisely how one would describe the Bengals' newest cornerback DJ Turner II. The Michigan alum ran the fastest 40-yard dash at this year's scouting combine.
The first thing that stands out to Hilton is the obvious answer.
"Oh man, speed!" Hill said emphatically, now as the oldest starter in the secondary. "A guy that can come in there and cover a lot of ground, make a lot of plays. You know like I say with Lou [Anarumo] upstairs I know he's gonna put some good stuff together."
Drafted with the exact same pick as Cam Taylor-Britt was last year, the plan to implement Turner into the Bengals' defense might also be congruent to last year's second-round pick. Awuzie is projected to be back for Week 1 of the season after tearing his ACL last Halloween, but depth at cornerback will always be relied on throughout a 20-game gauntlet.
Whether or not Turner gets onto the field by midseason like Taylor-Britt did last year remains to be seen, but he'd be able to acclimate himself quickly in the presence of an old running mate from college. Projected starting safety Dax Hill played alongside Turner in Michigan's defensive backfield in 2021, like right alongside. Turner was the outside cornerback to Hill's nickel alignment.
The Bengals, and Hilton, got the full rundown on Turner from Hill right from the moment the pick was submitted.
"Number one, obviously just his speed," Hilton explained from Hill's scouting report. "But the way he makes plays on the ball. Dax said he kind of has a similar physicality to me and I was like, that's a great thing to hear. And we'll always welcome that."
Turner's size does match up with Hilton's in terms of weight and length. They're both around 180 pounds with approximately 30" arms. Hilton's dimensions made him an ideal conversion to the slot after playing safety in college, but Turner's top-tier speed and quickness offer much hope for him not just sticking on the outside, but thriving there as well.
Pretty soon, Hill and Turner will be the vets of Cincinnati's secondary, but not before Hilton gives his all during these last two years in the slot. The more players like him, the farther the Bengals can go.
