Cincinnati Bengals rookies DJ Turner and Charlie Jones are pretty familiar with one another after some battles in the Big Ten.
Turner, the team’s second-round pick, was Michigan’s versatile star-stopper in the secondary who lined up all over the field.
Jones, a fourth-rounder, was that star out of Purdue.
The two met in the Big Ten championship game, where Turner’s Wolverines won, but Jones popped off with 13 catches for 162 yards.
Turner recalls how Jones would go all over the field and wreak havoc, to say the least.
“He would line up outside, slot, left, right,” Turner said, according to ESPN’s Ben Baby. “It didn’t matter. Wherever he is, you better know where he is. Because if you don’t, it can get bad. Quick.”
This sort of fun perspective on Jones’ abilities explains why he was listed as one of the draft’s bigger steals. And sure, he’s not expected to see major playing time in the base offense, but there’s a reason we immediately called him a likely long-term Tyler Boyd replacement after 2023.
Until then, Jones has made it clear he’s going after returner jobs on special teams, where he’ll hope to have a big impact as a rookie.
