The Atlanta Falcons' selection of Clemson cornerback Avieon Terrell in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft is already threatening to flip their cornerback room on its head. Not only is Terrell set to join forces with his brother A.J. as the heart of Atlanta's cornerback room, he's expected to start instantly.
The family reunion has made for one of the coolest storylines from this draft class, but as far as talent goes, the Falcons landed a first-round talent in the middle of Round 2 who will define their secondary for years to come. But drafting him is also threatening to mark the beginning the end of an Atlanta CB.
The Falcons are expected to start both Terrell brothers and Mike Hughes as their Week 1 starters, with Billy Bowman Jr. and Cobee Bryant their main depth corners. And that means that fourth-year corner Clark Phillips III is on the wrong side of the roster bubble going into a crucial training camp.
The Falcons could quietly be preparing to move on from Clark Phillips III
Kevin Stefanski and Ian Cunningham have preached the importance of competition all offseason long, and the cornerback position is not immune to that. That means the 21-year-old will have to earn his starting spot, but I can't imagine him failing to do so given his versatility and sheer physicality despite his lack of length.
And that spells trouble for Phillips. The 24-year-old appeared in 16 of 17 games for the Dirty Birds in 2024, but made just two starts. However, he made just one appearance in 2025 due to injury, and with him entering a contract year, there's no better time for Atlanta to move on from CP3.
The 2023 fourth-round pick started off his career on the boundary, but lacks both the size and athleticism to play on the outside. He then transitioned to the nickel, where he struggled, and Billy Bowman Jr. was drafted to be his replacement. And frankly, Bowman, Hughes, Avieon, and Sydney Brown should all get snaps before him in the nickel.
The Utah product is a guy who Jeff Ulbrich and this defensive staff inherited, and they've hardly had a chance to see him in action. If he's not gonna play much of a role and they aren't planning to bring him back next offseason, it wouldn't be the worst decision to consider ripping off the band-aid now to open up more snaps for Terrell.
There's a reason Avieon Terrell was one of the players the Falcons refused to trade off of: they have big plans for him. And unfortunately, those plans could have an adverse effect on a guy who was once looked at as a potential cornerstone of this Atlanta secondary.
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