As the watches blinked 10:40 and Thursday night in Indianapolis began to think about Friday, Michigan cornerback DJ Turner II had an appointment in the Bengals' suite at Lucas Oil Stadium for his interview.
As Charles Burks would later find out, it was Drago who showed up, not DJ.
Turner, full name JuanDrago Turner II, ended up as the Bengals' final interview at the 2023 NFL scouting combine. One of the more astute selections in the ensuing draft after Turner emerged last season as one of the top cover cornerbacks in the land, the Bengals clearly saved their best for last.
Burks, at his side a loose-leaf notebook emblazoned with his name and logo of the 2026 NFL scouting combine, is getting ready for next week's glitzy job fair reviewing notes from that one.
Burks, the Bengals' cornerbacks coach, went into the Turner interview looking for a villain. When it broke up as sanctioned by combine rules 18 minutes and seven Michigan defensive cutups later, Burks was so impressed that he wanted to put Turner on a wanted poster. Burks wouldn't know it until that fateful day in Kansas City a year later, but there are two different Turners.
"DJ Turner is a kind, humble young man," Burks says. "Drago is arrogant, moody, and he wants to be the villain in every stadium that he walks in. The bad guy. Drago was sitting in there. A little bit on edge, and you could kind of feel it."
That's the Turner that Burks wanted. No, make that coveted. He scouts arrogance. At that position, hubris is needed as much as hands. Only bad guys need apply. Drago told the Bengals that night he would run his 40-yard dash fast in the coming days, and the Bengals knew that wasn't bluster.
When Andrew Johnson, the Bengals' long-time area scout who covers Michigan, looked at his stopwatch after Turner's 40 and saw what would later become that combine's fastest time at 4.26 seconds, it confirmed what he had been watching for years and heard in the back halls of Ann Arbor.
"Guys with rare speed make it look like it's effortless," Johnson says. "It's almost like watching a guy with rare arm strength throw the ball. It almost doesn't look as fast as it should be because it's so easy. The movement is so easy.
"DJ gets to top speed quickly. I think that's one thing that separates really good 40 runners is how quickly they can get to top speed. DJ was obviously like that."
Six years before Turner, Johnson had sat in Lucas Oil and timed Washington wide receiver John Ross' record 4.22. Ross was also expected to run fast, but not set a record or send a few Holy S---- through the scouts.
Johnson's watch actually had Ross at 4.15. A 4.18 was bandied about. The Bengals took Ross in the 2017 first round, and his story (38 games, out of the league at 29) seemed to mesh with many of the combine speed champs.
Turner matched the 4.26 of Hampton wide receiver Jerome Mathis in 2005 (17 NFL games) and Kent State running back Dri Archer in 2014 (20 games). Baylor cornerback Kalon Barnes played two games after running 4.23 in 2022.
But Bengals assistant general manager Mike Potts, who is in charge of college scouting, didn't have any fears that Turner would be a flash-in-the pan. There was too much good game tape.
"It's an unbelievable feat to break 4.3. We don't take that for granted," Potts says. "A lot of the guys that run really fast are not super fluid and don't change direction very well. A lot of times they're really tightly wound, and that's not the case with DJ.
"He's agile. He can change direction. He's fluid. So he's a bit of an anomaly compared to some guys that run really fast in a straight line, but don't have all the athletic attributes."
Johnson knew Turner would test well in Indy before he popped a 38 ½-inch vertical leap and a 10-foot-11 broad jump. His two biggest hurdles wouldn't be determined at the combine, but only when he began playing.
Could he keep weight on his 5-11 frame, and could he play on the outside? Johnson felt Turner's decision to stay in school another year helped him gain more knowledge of training and recovery to hover at 185 pounds.
And, as if to foreshadow the Bengals' good fortune with Turner, they fell into some extra time with him beyond the combine's tightly-controlled Orwellian access to players.
Turner's trainers had a recovery room at the Bengals hotel, and at the end of two nights, Johnson bumped into Turner on the walk from Lucas Oil through the Indiana Convention Center. That accounted for maybe 20 incalculably valuable minutes in the world of scouting.
"In a combine interview setting, you're likely to get a more buttoned-up, slightly guarded exposure to the kid," Johnson says. "But walking back through the convention center, he's much more relaxed. One-on -one, not in front of a room, in front of all of our brass."
What impressed Johnson is that the walking, talking Turner was pretty much the same cool, confident guy who sat in the interview.
Turner ran only one 40. He took part in only two drills, the vertical and broad jumps. That far from offended Burks.
"I loved it," Burks says. "Shows you the confidence."
That demeanor also told Burks that Turner was intelligent. "Not necessarily what he says, but how he carries himself … Handling his business."
The business of the Bengals in those 18 minutes is to get more than a feel for the prospect, but a sense. Potts, who chairs the interviews, usually leads off with questions about background. The position coach gets the bulk of the meeting (10 minutes maybe?) and leads a discussion about the player's knowledge and view of the game.
Burks came armed with seven of Turner's plays from the 2022 season.
Three good ones.
A remarkable recovery pass defensed after he initially got beat on a long ball against Illinois. (Even before that monstrous 40 time, that's the snap that convinced Burks that Turner had the skills any DB coach would want.)
There was also a batted ball while inside at nickel against Purdue. Plus, cutting off a Michigan State deep route when he angled his coverage into the sidelines.
Burks had him walking through the snaps, and it was clear Turner had the brains with his recall of the unfolding play. Burks feels it's imperative to leave interviews with an idea of how aware the player is of his ability, and if he knows what he has to work on. Already building a foundation to coach him, Burks believes.
And, if he's arrogant enough. When Turner walked him through the play in the slot, it was music to Burks' ears.
"He basically said he would want to play anywhere the best receiver plays," Burks says. "He was adamant he was a man-to-man corner. That's what I want to know. Is he a man-to-man corner, or just some other corner?"
And he showed Turner four bad plays that included two missed tackles. "Yes, Turner said. "Have to work on it." He also showed him two deep completions, the last one a contested ball Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud fired to first-rounder Emeka Egbuka.
"I did whatever I could to stop the receiver," Turner told Burks. Burks told him, "The receiver had nothing to do with that ball … I basically showed you a clip where you can run with anybody in the world." The guys who get paid are the ones who make plays on the ball. Turner nodded.
Burks felt Turner understood. His 18 pass breakups, second best in the league last season, back him up.
It was just ten minutes, but Burks knew he'd love to have him. Because in those ten minutes, "He oozed with confidence. You want to coach the most confident guy in the combine."
For the next year and a half, Burks got to know DJ Turner. "Great guy. Could coach him for the rest of my life."
There were glimpses of Drago, that guy in the room in Indy. Until the second game of his second season, when Drago stayed for good. When Turner's first NFL interception against Chiefs magic man Patrick Mahomes was wiped out by penalty. He went ballistic and has been pretty much Drago ever since on game day.
"That's the guy I saw," says Burks of a night in Indy the Bengals met Drago.
