A. J. Terrell
refer to caption
Terrell with the Falcons in 2022
No. 24 – Atlanta Falcons
Position:Cornerback
Personal information
Born: (1998-09-23) September 23, 1998 (age 25)
Rochester, New York, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:Westlake (Atlanta, Georgia)
College:Clemson (2017–2019)
NFL draft:2020 / Round: 1 / Pick: 16
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Total tackles:247
Sacks:1.0
Pass deflections:43
Interceptions:4
Forced fumbles:4
Fumble recoveries:1
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Aundell Terrell Jr. (born September 23, 1998) is an American football cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson and was selected by the Falcons in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Early years

Terrell attended Westlake High School in Atlanta, Georgia. He played cornerback and wide receiver in high school. A five-star recruit, he played in the 2017 Under Armour All-America Game.[1] He committed to Clemson University to play college football.[2][3]

College career

As a true freshman at Clemson in 2017, Terrell played in 14 games, recording 15 tackles and an interception. As a sophomore in 2018, he started all 15 games and had 53 tackles, three interceptions and a touchdown.[4] In the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship he returned an interception 44 yards for a touchdown against Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.[5] Terrell returned as a starter his junior year in 2019.[6] Following a junior season where he was named to the first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference, Terrell announced that he would forgo his senior season and declared for the 2020 NFL Draft.[7]

College statistics

Year Team Class GP Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FF FR
2017 Clemson FR 10 10 4 14 1.0 0.0 1 0 0.0 0 7 0 0
2018 Clemson SO 14 40 13 53 2.0 0.0 3 95 31.7 1 3 2 0
2019 Clemson JR 14 24 10 34 0.5 0.5 2 65 32.5 0 3 0 0
Career[8] 38 74 27 101 3.5 0.5 6 160 26.7 1 13 2 0

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 1+1⁄8 in
(1.86 m) 		195 lb
(88 kg) 		31+1⁄4 in
(0.79 m) 		9 in
(0.23 m)		 4.42 s 1.55 s 2.58 s 4.27 s 7.12 s 34.5 in
(0.88 m)		 10 ft 9 in
(3.28 m)		 15 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[9][10]

2020 season

The Atlanta Falcons selected Terrell in the first round (16th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft.[11] Terrell was the third cornerback drafted in 2020, after Jeff Okudah (3rd overall) and C. J. Henderson (9th overall).[12] On July 20, 2020, the Falcons signed Terrell to a fully-guaranteed four-year, $14.31 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $7.96 million.[13] He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on September 26, 2020, prior to week 3 after testing positive for the virus.[14] He was activated on October 8, 2020.[15]

In Week 6 against the Minnesota Vikings, Terrell recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Kirk Cousins during the 40–23 win.[16] In Week 13 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Terrell had a career-high 13 tackles in a 17–20 loss.[17]

2021 season

In Week 9 against the New Orleans Saints, Terrell had five tackles and a career-high 3 passes defended in the 27–25 win.[18] In Week 11 against the New England Patriots, Terrell had his first interception of the season in the 0–25 loss.[19] In Week 14, Terrell recorded an interception and three passes defended in the 29–21 win over the Carolina Panthers.[20] Terrell recorded his third interception of the season and his first career sack in Week 17 against the Buffalo Bills.[21]

On January 14, 2022, Terrell was named second-team All-Pro.[22] He received an overall grade of 82.7 from Pro Football Focus, 2nd among qualifying cornerbacks in 2021.[23]

2022 season

In Week 3 against the Seattle Seahawks, Terrell had six tackles and season-high 3 passes defended in the 27–23 win.[24] In Week 6 against the San Francisco 49ers, Terrell recorded his first career fumble recovery in the 28–14 blowout win.[25] Terrell suffered a hamstring injury in Week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals.[26] Terrell missed three games due to injury before returning in Week 11 against the Chicago Bears, where he recorded four tackles in the 27–24 win.[27]

NFL career statistics

Legend
Bold Career high
Year Team GP GS Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Solo Ast Tot TFL Sk Int Yds TD PD FF FR
2020 ATL 14 14 61 13 74 3 0.0 1 0 0 7 3 0
2021 ATL 16 16 52 29 81 3 1.0 3 42 0 16 1 0
2022 ATL 14 14 36 11 47 1 0.0 0 0 0 9 0 1
2023 ATL 17 17 34 11 45 4 0.0 0 0 0 11 0 0
Career[28] 61 61 183 64 247 11 1.0 4 42 0 43 4 1

Personal life

Aundell Terrell Jr. was the second of four children born to Aundell Terrell Sr. and his wife Aliya.[29][30] The family moved from Rochester, New York, to Atlanta, Georgia, in 2001.[30] Terrell Jr.'s son, Aundell III, was born in 2019.[31][32]

References

  1. ^ "Under Armour All-American A.J. Terrell: Hard work pays off". USA Today. September 23, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  2. ^ Kornblut, Phil (August 19, 2016). "Top DB target A.J. Terrell makes commitment to Clemson". The State. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  3. ^ Smith, Cam (August 19, 2016). "Four-star Ga. DB A.J. Terrell commits to Clemson with custom sneakers for his whole family". USA Today. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  4. ^ Keepfer, Scott (December 29, 2018). "Consistency marked strong sophomore season for cornerback A.J. Terrell". Independent Mail. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  5. ^ Hadley, Greg (January 7, 2019). "Clemson intercepts Tua Tagovailoa twice in first half of action-packed championship". The State. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  6. ^ Connolly, Matt (August 17, 2019). "Becoming a father gives Clemson's AJ Terrell added motivation for 2019". Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  7. ^ Williams, Charean (January 17, 2020). "Clemson cornerback A.J. Terrell declares for draft". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved January 19, 2020.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "A.J. Terrell". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  9. ^ "A.J. Terrell Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  10. ^ "2020 Draft Scout A.J. Terrell, Clemson NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  11. ^ Keepfer, Scott (April 23, 2020). "Clemson cornerback AJ Terrell drafted 16th overall by the Atlanta Falcons". Greenville News. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  12. ^ "2020 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  13. ^ Gordon, Grant (July 20, 2020). "Falcons sign first-round selection CB A.J. Terrell". NFL.com. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  14. ^ McFadden, Will. "Falcons place A.J. Terrell on reserve/COVID-19 list". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  15. ^ McFadden, Will (October 8, 2020). "Falcons activate A.J. Terrell off reserve/COVID-19 list". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  16. ^ "Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings – October 18th, 2020 | Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  17. ^ "Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Chargers - December 13th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  18. ^ "Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints - November 7th, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  19. ^ "New England Patriots at Atlanta Falcons - November 18th, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  20. ^ "Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers - December 12th, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  21. ^ "Atlanta Falcons at Buffalo Bills - January 2nd, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  22. ^ "2021 All-Pro Team: Jonathan Taylor, T.J. Watt, Cooper Kupp highlight roster". NFL.com. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  23. ^ "NFL CB Position Grades". PFF. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  24. ^ "Atlanta Falcons at Seattle Seahawks - September 25th, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  25. ^ "San Francisco 49ers at Atlanta Falcons - October 16th, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  26. ^ Bair, Scott (November 16, 2022). "Injury Report: Updating A.J. Terrell, Erik Harris status as practice prep for Bears begins". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  27. ^ "Chicago Bears at Atlanta Falcons - November 20th, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  28. ^ "A.J. Terrell, Pro". pro-football-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on July 12, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  29. ^ Keepfer, Scott (August 26, 2019). "Meet the Tigers: 3 things you probably don't know about Clemson football's A.J. Terrell". Greenville News. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  30. ^ a b Inguaggiato, Brodie (April 24, 2020). "Falcons 1st-round pick A.J. Terrell was born in Rochester to high school sweethearts". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  31. ^ Connolly, Matt (August 17, 2019). "Becoming a father gives Clemson's AJ Terrell added motivation for 2019". The State. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  32. ^ Hummer, Steve (April 25, 2020). "Falcons' first pick A.J. Terrell a lesson in the power of family". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved April 28, 2020.

External links

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