CINCINNATI — Character and speed were the two characteristics that defined the Bengals’ second day of the 2023 NFL Draft on Friday.
In taking Dax Hill’s former teammate at Michigan – corner DJ Turner II – and Alabama safety Jordan Battle, the Bengals continue to load up on defense to be prepared to handle the offenses that they’ll see week after week in the AFC.
In Turner, the Bengals are getting one of the fastest corners in the draft class. Turner ran a 4.26 40-yard dash, the fastest of any DB in the class, including an impressive 1.42 in his first 10-yard burst. Not only does he test fast, he plays fast according to Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.
“Yeah, you take the whole thing and put it together, and I think he’s got a little bit a ways to go from a weight standpoint, but you can put some weight on him — you can’t make him (run a) 4.2 (second 40-yard dash),” Anarumo said. “The explosiveness that he has in his body, he’s a tough guy, throws his body around, so it’s not that he won’t try to tackle or anything like that, so we feel like we’re getting a complete player.”
Turner will have to compensate for his weight (only 178 lbs.) and his arm length (30 3/4″).
“I just think the way the guy moves, changes direction is really excellent,” Anarumo said. “Not only the long part of it, but his short area, quickness stuff is really excellent. I think that helps offset some of the other things.”
- Anarumo said there is the possibility of playing Turner inside and outside.
“I think there’s a bunch of different ways to look at it,” Anarumo said. “This guy I think does have some flexibility, but we’ll certainly start him outside. He’s done some of the inside work. Yesterday, we were talking about it — (he’s played) over 600 snaps outside, so he’s primarily an outside guy. But you get him in the building, you move him around, you see what we thought we saw on tape, and we think we got a guy who can do some different things, and we’ll see when we get him here.”
- Then, of course, there is the Michigan factor.
“DJ Turner, another Michigan DB to add to the mix here,” head coach Zac Taylor said. “We felt we needed to add depth to the secondary, and he’s a guy who can come in and really compete at multiple roles for us, and provide depth outside and inside, and really like the intangibles he brings as well, so excited to welcome him to the mix.
“We just got off the phone with Dax once the pick was official,” Taylor added with a laugh. “I know (Charles) Burks had talked to Dax quite a bit and Jordan Kovacs and those guys. Again, we’re not necessarily making all of those phone calls, but our guys in the building have been doing that.”
“I told him I’m a competitive corner — versatile — and he said he was going to put a lot on my plate and (asked if) I could get it done,” Turner said of his chat with Burks. “I’m just excited for it. I feel I can fit in perfectly with the Bengals.”
And playing with old teammate Dax Hill could make that fit even better.
“(I noticed) they were winning. I was watching them all the time because Dax was out there (playing) last year,” Turner said. “I was tuning in every week, so I’ve been watching them a lot recently.”
Watching Hill, did Turner ever envision playing on the Bengals?
“Yeah, for sure. Now for sure. We joked around about it and was like, ‘Man, what if we get back together?’ And it actually happened.”
- The idea of adding Turner and Battle was simple in the eyes of Lou Anarumo.
“It’s been great. You’re adding at premium positions, and that’s what it takes in this part of the draft is to get those players, because they seem to disappear pretty quick,” Anarumo said. “I’m happy with (Thursday), and now we get a corner with great speed, he’s got good length, and he’s played a lot of football, so I feel good about it.
“It’s playing out great, but we still have great veterans in that room — Chido (Awuzie), Mike Hilton, we brought in Nick (Scott), Mike Thomas is in there. We’ve got guys that have been around this league a long time to teach these guys our way, and the right way to do things. We’ll miss those guys, but we’ve got great leadership and great players in that room still.”
Added Taylor, “This guy is just competitive. Lou mentioned toughness, and that’s what you see, and that’s the perspective I look at from the offensive side of the ball. These DBs, the ones that compete and are tough, are valuable and he’s got the speed to match it. He’s played in a pro system before at Michigan, so we certainly value that as well. We think we’re adding the right guy to the mix here.”
Thumbnail on DJ Turner II:
Thumbnail on Jordan Battle:
As for Battle, the Bengals are getting a fundamentally sound safety who can played both in coverage and in the box. But most of all, they are getting a high-character player who can step in and fit into a high-character locker room. He played at a high school in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. that produced players like Gio Bernard and Geno Atkins and Super Bowl LI hero James White.
“We’re really excited (to add him),” Taylor said. “We have high regard for this guy as a safety. Again, coming from Alabama, (he’s a) winner. He went there to compete. He went to one of the best high schools — St. Thomas Aquinas — in all of America. One the top high schools. (He) competed there and then went to Alabama to compete there with a number of great safeties in order to win championships, so he’s not afraid of competition and (now he) continues to come here and help us win championships as well.
“We think this guy fits everything that we’re about. We sit up here and talk about (it) all the time: This guy’s an A-plus character leader on a great team and can be a valuable safety and special teams player in the coming year, so we’re excited to have Jordan.”
- Anarumo loved what he saw on film and in person from Battle.
“He’s in position a lot to make plays,” Anarumo said. “He’s very rarely out of position. You can see him communicating, which is really important back there obviously, so you can trust him. You can tell his teammates to trust him. Again, he’s rarely out of position, (he) gets guys on the ground, and his character is off the charts. That’s why he’s so intriguing.”
“The first thing I’ll always say is just how smart I am,” Battle said. “I’m also very instinctual, play fast and downhill, and just being able to attack the ball in the air when it is in the air in my direction. Being able to take the ball to the next level and scoring when I get the ball in my hands, just turning into a football player at that point when I have it in my hands.”
Battle believes he can eventually be as valuable to the Bengals as another star safety currently residing in the AFC North.
“I like to watch a lot of Minkah Fitzpatrick. I love the way he’s used,” Battle added. “I love how he plays in the box. He’s one of those guys when I talk about versatility, one of the guys who does that at the next level. They move him around the slot, the deep part of the field, and in the box. He’s a guy I like to watch because he comes down, he does tackle the way he does, and has that play-making ability in the deep part of the field in making plays and being rangy. He’s a guy I like to watch a lot.”
