A second-round pick of the Bengals after posting the fastest 40-yard dash at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine (4.26 seconds), Turner flashed promise in his first two seasons, but inconsistency and injury held him back. That changed in Year 3, when he became one of the most efficient cover men in the league, recording a whopping 18 passes defensed on just 65 targets, per Next Gen Stats. (For comparison’s sake, Mike Jackson and Riley Moss — the co-leaders with 19 passes defensed — were targeted 90 and 116 times, respectively.) With that kind of production, what is Turner doing on a list of underappreciated players? He’s not a household name, as evidenced by one particular slight.
“I thought DJ should have made the Pro Bowl,” Joe Burrow said back in December. “But, you know, I told him the other day, ‘Usually, the first year that you should make it, you’re typically an alternate. And then if you stack that year, they usually give it to you in the next year.’ ”
Perhaps 2026 is the year Turner gets his shine.
