Cincinnati Bengals cornerback DJ Turner II (20) breaks up a pass to Buffalo Bills wife receiver Keon Coleman (0) in the second quarter of the NFL Week 14 game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cincinnati Bengals Defender Named Team's 2025 Secret Superstar

Originally posted on Cincinnati Bengals on SI
By Russell Heltman | Last updated Jan 22, 2026 9:15 AM ET

Pro Football Focus writer Zach Tantillo named secret superstars for each NFL team from the 2025 season, and Cincinnati's came from the worst unit out of the three phases.

Cornerback DJ Turner II kept the Bengals from being even worse on that side of the ball than they already were last season as the 32nd-ranked yards per play unit in the NFL (6.2 yards per play allowed).

"On a Bengals defense that struggled throughout 2025, Turner stood out as the unit’s most consistent performer," Tantillo wrote. "His 73.3 PFF overall grade was the highest on the defense, and his 78.1 PFF coverage grade ranked fifth among all cornerbacks with at least 275 coverage snaps. Turner also limited opposing quarterbacks to a 46.8% completion rate in his coverage, the fifth-lowest clip among NFL cornerbacks."

Turner has earned a contract extension look this offseason, entering his fourth NFL campaign.

He is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is clearly Cincinnati's top defensive building block already. Director of player personnel Duke Tobin is trying to find other defensive pillars to put around Turner.

"Yeah, I think both of them would be guys that we would (extend)," Tobin said about Turner and Dax Hill earlier this offseason. "What they showed this year is that they're pretty high-level cover corners. They have, they have the skill set that we thought they had. They've developed the way that we thought they would develop. And I was impressed with Dax coming off his knee injury. And you can just see the confidence grow the longer he has had that in his past, and he is really proud of the way DJ grew, both as a leader and as a player. Those guys we're fortunate to have them, and those are guys to build around.”

Cincinnati has the NFL prospect bowl cycles next week as the latest step on the 2026 offseason staircase.

Check out Tantillo's full list here.