JuanDrago "DJ" Turner II (born November 9, 2000) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

and was selected by the Bengals in the second round of the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

Early life

Turner was born on November 9, 2000, in

Suwanee, Georgia Suwanee is a city in Gwinnett County and a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,355; this had grown to an estimated 20,907 as of 2019. In 2020, its population was 20 ...

. He attended

North Gwinnett High School North Gwinnett High School is a public high school in Suwanee, Georgia, United States. It is part of the district Gwinnett County Public Schools. The school's principal is Nathan Ballantine. History North Gwinnett High School was established ...

before transferring to

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a University-preparatory school, preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. The organization is set across over 600 acres (243 ha) and features programs consisting of sport ca ...

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a pri ...

, for his senior year. He committed to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

to play

College career

Turner appeared in eight total games his first two years at Michigan in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, he played in all 14 games and made eight starts. He finished the year with 33 tackles, two

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

and one

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. Turner returned as a starter in 2022, intercepting one pass and returning a fumble 45 yards for a touchdown.

Professional career

Turner was selected by the

in the second round, 60th overall, of the

2023

In Week 5 against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

, Bengals' starting cornerback

Chidobe Awuzie Chidobe Richard Awuzie (born May 24, 1995) is an American professional football cornerback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes and was selected by the Dallas Cowb ...

was ruled out with a back injury, leading to Turner getting his first career start. Turner would finish the game with four total tackles and one pass deflection, grading the highest of all the Bengals' cornerbacks in the 34–20 win. He recorded his first sack in the Bengals' Week 10 contest against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

, and recovered a fumble the following week against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, with a 28 yard return. Turner finished his rookie season with 50 tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery, and seven pass deflections.

2024

Despite starting 12 games as a rookie, Turner was named the Bengals' second string cornerback to begin the season, backing up

Daxton Hill Daxton Jor-El Hill (born September 29, 2000) is an American professional football cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, where he was named an All-Big ...

to begin the 2024 campaign. Hill would go out with a season ending knee injury during the Bengals' Week 5 game against the

, thrusting Turner back into the starting role. Turner suffered a broken clavicle in Week 11 and was placed on injured reserve on November 19.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bengals bioMichigan Wolverines bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, DJ 2000 births Living people Players of American football from Suwanee, Georgia IMG Academy alumni American football cornerbacks Michigan Wolverines football players Cincinnati Bengals players