Big Blue View
Can Terrell be a first-round cornerback?
The New York Giants are in a curious position as far as their roster and future draft needs are concerned.
They have one of the youngest rosters in the NFL, which could be considered a strength or a weakness. On one hand, if everything comes together, they should have a deep and talented core of players for years to come. On the other hand, development isn’t certain and the team could find themselves in need of players at multiple positions if the youngsters can’t step up.
Starting corner Deonte Banks is one of those players in limbo. He has deeply impressive physical traits, but also struggled to adapt to Shane Bowen’s defensive scheme after being drafted for Wink Martindale’s scheme.
Clemson cornerback Avieon Terrell is a quick, agile corner who can play man or zone. The Giants might want to keep an eye on him in case Banks doesn’t take a step forward in 2025.
(Terrell is the Clemson cornerback wearing No. 20, with orange sleeves and usually on the defensive left.)
Terrell is an impressively athletic cornerback and he appears to have prototypically quick feet as well as oily hips on tape. He’s a very easy mover who can change direction at a moment’s notice with quick, light feet, and also has the hip fluidity to easily flip and carry his speed in transition.
Terrell’s athleticism allows him to easily get, and stay, in phase with receivers throughout their routes. He has the quickness and agility to match breaks at the top of stems, as well as the speed to run with most receivers down the field. Terrell does a good job of disguising zone or off-man coverage, allowing him to execute pattern matching coverage rules as the play call dictates.
His athleticism and movement skills also allow him to effectively avoid schemed traffic in space and maintain tight coverage.
He appears to be a very quick processor on tape, with good eye discipline and the ability to track the ball in the backfield. He’s quick to click and close, and is explosive coming downhill. That quick processing with the athleticism to act on his reads make him disruptive at the catch point, with 2 interceptions, 12 passes defensed, and 3 forced fumbles last year.
Finally, Terrell is a willing run defender and a surprisingly good tackler. He shows little hesitation in coming downhill to make a play on the ball carrier. Likewise, he does a good job of tackling with good form to get ball carriers on the ground. Terrell consistently makes an effort to drive through ball carriers’ hips while wrapping up to make sure they go down and limit yards after contact.
The most obvious negative on Terrell’s profile is one he can’t really do anything about — his size.
Terrell isn’t exactly undersized, at least if Clemson’s listed height and weight are to be believed. However he’s definitely...
