The Falcons don’t have many pieces currently on the roster to build around, but A.J. Terrell is undoubtedly one of the pillars of this rebuild. Atlanta would be wise to give him a competent running mate on the other boundary because organizations can never have too many good cornerbacks.
Terrell enjoyed quite the breakout season in 2021 and was predictably rewarded with All-Pro honors, even if he was snubbed from the Pro Bowl. It is blasphemous he wasn’t named to his first Pro Bowl. He only allowed 23 receptions on 52 targets for 150 yards, trailing only J.C. Jackson‘s (39.6) opponent passer rating allowed among primary outside cornerbacks this season.
To compare, Marshon Lattimore has given up 47 catches on 84 targets for 804 yards with an opponent passer rating of 106.4 — almost twice what Terrell is allowing. A knock against Terrell could be that he doesn’t follow the opposing team’s WR1, while Lattimore, Jalen Ramsey, Trevon Diggs, and Darius Slay go all over the field.
Still, the trail of receivers Terrell has left in his wake is quite impressive. Terrell impressively held Deebo Samuel, Jaylen Waddle, and Corey Davis to 0 yards in their respective matchups. Even more impressive, he only surrendered 19 yards to Michael Gallup and 24 yards to Stefon Diggs, who is undoubtedly one of the best receivers in the game.
Terrell is only scratching the surface of what he could potentially ascend to, and the Falcons should feel great moving forward because finding lockdown cornerbacks in today’s pass-happy NFL is getting excruciatingly difficult.
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