The Cincinnati Bengals know what they have with cornerback DJ Turner. He knows it too.
That’s why Turner is a top Bengals extension candidate this offseason and why he showed up to even voluntary work to keep things amicable for his all-in team.
There’s a lag on the national and NFL-wide side when it comes to Turner, though, it seems.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently polled NFL executives, coaches and others for his top 10 series and Turner’s name wasn’t among them.
In fact, Turner was all the way down in the “also receiving votes” category. Probably fair to wonder if Bengals execs and coaches weren’t the ones bringing him up in the poll, too.
These types of rankings will catch up and do right by Turner, provided he keeps playing at a high level. He just enjoyed a breakout last season on the boundary, registering a 73.3 Pro Football Focus grade.
That PFF grade ranked Turner 19th out of 114 cornerbacks around the NFL. The numbers there, which are similar elsewhere, say he allowed just 29 receptions in coverage all season. His 13 pass breakups were second out of those 114.
Leaguewide acknowledgment or not, the Bengals know all too well how rare it is to roster a top boundary corner, so there’s no reason to think contract talks with Turner will go anything but positively.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: NFL exec poll shows Bengals’ DJ Turner still an overlooked breakout
Reporting by Chris Roling, Bengals Wire / Bengals Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Chris Roling, Bengals Wire | USA TODAY Network
