Finally convinced that he was indeed being drafted by the Bears in the second round, Turner celebrated with his family, including his mom, sister, grandmother, aunt and uncle.
The Bears view Turner as an ideal fit in new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s system because the 6-3, 290-pounder plays with violence, relentlessness and a nasty disposition.
“What qualities make me stand out?” Turner said. “I would say my tenacity and my intensity, like how intense I play and how fast I play and how mean and nasty I am.”
Turner appeared in 43 games over four seasons at Texas A&M, recording 115 tackles, 10.0 sacks and 24 tackles-for-loss. Over the past two years, he compiled 69 tackles, 8.0 sacks and 17 tackles-for-loss.
Turner made a positive first impression at rookie minicamp in May.
“He’s athletic,” Allen said at the time. “That was the first thing that we saw. You see explosion and power with this player. He’s got the right temperament for what we’re looking for. I think we’ll have to put the saddle on him and break him a little bit … but we’re excited about working with him.”
Turner balances his aggressiveness on the field with an outgoing personality.
“I think he really loves football,” Allen said. “And that’s something that we look for in guys that we want to bring into the building because you have to love football to do all the things that are going to be necessary to have success in our league. He’s got a good personality, and then when he’s on the field, he’s about business, so that’s good to see.”