Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Clemson CB Avieon Terrell

The Atlanta Falcons wanted to address depth at cornerback and the best way to do that was to draft their star cornerback A.J. Terrell's little brother Avieon Terrell out of Clemson. The Falcons made a brilliant move to challenge Mike Hughes and Billy Bowman Jr. by selecting the younger Terrell.

Avieon Terrell, cornerback, Clemson University

What are the Atlanta Falcons getting in Avieon Terrell

Athletic Comparison and Numbers

William Gay was a very solid player during his time in the NFL. He was an above-average cornerback who could play anywhere on the field and was able to really impact opposing offenses with his forced fumbles, interceptions and his all-around abilities in the pass and versus the run.

Stats and Awards

2025: 12 Games Played, 48 Tackles, 4.5 Tackles for Loss, 3.0 Sacks, 5 Fumbles Forced, 1 Fumble Recovered, 9 Pass Deflections, Second-Team All-American, Jim Thorpe Award Semifinalist, First-Team All-ACC
2024: 14 Games Played, 58 Tackles, 4.5 Tackles for Loss, 1.0 Sack, 2 Interceptions, 3 Fumbles Forced, 1 Fumble Recovered, 12 Pass Deflections, Second-Team All-ACC
2023: 13 Games Played, 19 Tackles, 1 Interception, 4 Pass Deflections, All-ACC Academic Team

Highlight Reels

Scouting Report

Strengths

Avieon Terrell can play anywhere on the field and technically is one of the most polished cornerbacks in the draft. He's very intelligent in how he plays in man or in zone. A very fluid athlete, he can use his recovery speed and athleticism to match receivers. Anticipation to the catch point is one of his biggest strength leading to a lot of knockaways and potential interceptions. He is also solid enough in press to quickly attack receivers at the line.

Terrell is an excellent block shedder in the run game and has a natural instinct on pass versus run that most corners take time to develop. His insane competitiveness will annoy the receivers that are aligned against him forcing mistakes from them trying to show him up. The former Clemson Tiger is also exceptional at forcing fumbles with eight in his career in college. He also understands how to play with leverage against receivers to force inaccurate throws.

Weaknesses

The positives are there, but Terrell does show weaknesses when he's on the field anticipating where a wide receiver is going to hit his landmark. He also has trouble in run support and against bigger linebackers because he is a smaller cornerback than his brother is. He's got to figure out how to win those 50/50 balls against bigger receivers and might need to get some advice from the smaller corners on the team who have played in the NFL for a while on best tips there.

Intangibles & Off-Field Red Flags

While Avieon Terrell was never a team captain for the Tigers, the Clemson coaching staff loved his competitiveness that showed up on the field. He is more than willing to mix it up in run defense and even has played on special teams during his time at Clemson. The Falcons will love how he is basically his brother in this aspect of his profile.

NFL Stylistic Comparison: William Gay

William Gay was a guy who was selected in the fifth round of his draft, but showed his abilities all over the field when he was with the Steelers and Cardinals. He showed that he could align all over and be productive. Atlanta has a similar hope for Avieon Terrell where even if he's never a Pro Bowl corner, he should at minimum be the above average starter that Gay was throughout his decade long career.

Standard Scheme fits

Boundary, Slot, Zone, Off-Man

Avieon Terrell is the kind of cornerback who can play anywhere in the formation and help the Falcons in their primary schematic coverages of Zone and Off-man. Terrell fits in well everywhere and will at minimum upgrade over Dee Alford's play from 2025 at the spot.

How does he project to fit in with the Falcons?

Early on in his career, expect Terrell to slide right in as the nickel until Billy Bowman is fully healthy from the Achilles tear that he suffered near the end of the 2025 season. Once Bowman is healthy, Terrell should be competing for playing time as the outside cornerback with Mike Hughes. Long-term, Terrell will be the outside corner across from his brother for as long as the Falcons see both of them as productive players within their schemes.

Why CB Avieon Terrell instead of CB Jermod McCoy or LB C.J. Allen?

The selection of Avieon Terrell might seem like a reach with Jermod McCoy on the board, but McCoy has a nasty injury that might have him completely fall out of the first two days of the draft. And while UGA's C.J. Allen would have been a fan favorite, the Falcons decided that improving the cornerback position was much more important. This truly was the best pick the Falcons could have made in the draft's second round this year.

All advanced stats are courtesy Pro Football Focus or Football Outsiders. All traditional stats are courtesy of official team websites, NFLGSIS or CFB Stats. All RAS and athletic testing numbers are courtesy of DraftScout.com and Kent Lee Platte's RAS Football website.

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