2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report: D.J. Turner





  • D.J. Turner, 5-11/178

  • Cornerback

  • Michigan


  • D.J. Turner Scouting Report
    By Charlie Campbell

    Strengths:
  • Extremely fast
  • Can carry verticals
  • Explosive
  • Instant acceleration
  • Advanced recoverability
  • Speed to recover
  • Quick feet
  • Ability to break on the ball
  • Great corner to negate deep-speed receivers
  • Willing tackler
  • Dishes out some hard hits




  • Weaknesses:
  • Undersized
  • Short
  • Underweight
  • Gets pushed around by big receivers
  • Not as fluid as other small, fast corners
  • Could be picked on in the red zone


  • Summary: While Turner was not prolific for Michigan, he was a steady contributor over the past two seasons. Turner first saw the field in 2021, recording 33 tackle, two interceptions and seven passes broken up. For 2022, he put together 36 tackles, an interception and 10 pass breakups.

    Instantly, Turner is going to be among the fastest players in the NFL. He can use that great speed to carry verticals and run with speed receivers down field. Turner is capable of running the route to prevent separation, and he will use his instant acceleration to stay with his assignments out of their breaks. His burst and explosion give him some serious recoverability skills. Many teams in the NFL can struggle with super-fast wide receivers downfield and have to give cornerbacks help over the top. Turner’s NFL team won’t have to worry about that because he is able to run with the deep-speed receivers and keep them from getting open.



    Turner is also a willing tackler who will come downhill and hit hard. While he is small, Turner is aggressive and uses his speed to close in a blur on ball-carriers.

    The most concerning issue with Turner is his stature. He is a short and light cornerback, so he should not be matched up with big receivers who could make catches over him and/or push him aroung. Because of the size issue, Turner will mostly be relegated to being a nickelback, but teams do line up big receivers in the slot as well. Also, while Turner is fast, he has some stiffness.

    In the 2023 NFL Draft, Turner could be a second-day pick.



    Player Comparison: Donte Jackson. Turner’s combination of small size and elite speed is similar to Jackson’s, but Turner is more like a poor man’s Jackson. Turner has more stiffness and is tighter than the uber-fluid Jackson. Also, both can have issues with big receivers, but Jackson (5-10, 180) is more sound in coverage – even though he is a gambler at times. In the NFL, I could see Turner being a lesser version of Jackson.






    RELATED LINKS:


    2023 NFL Mock Draft: Charlie’s | Walt’s


    2023 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings


    2023 NFL Draft Scouting Reports








    NFL Picks - Oct. 30


    2025 NFL Mock Draft - Oct. 30


    NFL Power Rankings - Oct. 28


    Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 4