The Atlanta Falcons now will roll out the Terrell brothers in their secondary. Atlanta selected Avieon Terrell, A.J.’s younger brother and one of the best cornerback prospects in this draft class, with the 48th overall pick.
It’s hard to argue with this selection based on ability or vibes. Having the Two Terrells as starting cornerbacks is just plain cool, and Avieon brings fantastic coverage ability and ball skills to Atlanta.
Terrell was a full-time starter for Clemson each of the past two seasons and made the most of it. Like his brother A.J., Terrell did not reel in a ton of interceptions—he had three in three college seasons—but he gets his hand on the ball frequently, is a crisp and capable tackler most of the time, and excels in coverage. He also brought some versatility to the table, rushing the passer when called upon and picking up three sacks in 2025, forcing five fumbles, and playing nickel as well as outside. The smart money is on him playing outside opposite A.J. from day one—I think he can beat out Mike Hughes in a fair competition, no question—but he’ll be able to move around if that’s what the Falcons want.
Pairing the Terrells gives the Falcons a couple of corners lauded for their ability to stay close to receivers and frustrate them through their entire routes, potentially creating more opportunities for ballhawking safeties Jessie Bates and Xavier Watts and anticipated nickel corner Billy Bowman Jr. It also should help solve one of the defense’s most persistent issues a year ago, which was the Mike Hughes/occasionally Dee Alford/everyone else filling in coverage woes outside. Terrell is not the biggest player and may struggle at times with some of the towering options in the NFC South and larger NFC, and is not a lock to be a day one force for good against the run. The coverage chops and well-rounded game still suggest he can be a really good starter in this league for a long time.
Moving past the talent here, how cool is it to have two brothers playing together in Atlanta? A.J. said he wanted Avieon to land somewhere where he could forge his own path and play against him, but I doubt he’s going to mind having his younger brother on the same team where he can continue to challenge and mentor him. If all goes well, the next great Falcons team will owe a lot to their star duo of starting outside cornerbacks, who share a name on the back of their jersey and tremendous talent.
