CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 07: Avieon Terrell #20 of the Clemson Tigers celebrates after a pass defense during the fourth quarter of the 2024 ACC Football Championship at Bank of America Stadium on December 07, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
We are two weeks away from the NFL draft and the Dallas Cowboys, like all 32 teams, are getting their ducks in a row before what figures to be the pinnacle of the offseason. The team holds picks No. 12 and 20 in the first round, and there’s talk of trading up into the Top 6, and there’s talk of trading down, especially out of the No. 20 pick. That means just about everyone on the board is fair game for the Cowboys to consider.
And there’s always the possibility of a surprise slide that drops a player considered to be a Top 5 talent–Caleb Downs, Rueben Bain, Jeremiyah Love–into the Cowboys’ lap.
But if they stay put where they are and the first 11 picks in front of them go as most mock drafts indicate they will, it’s likely that the Cowboys will play it safe, and take an edge rusher like Akheem Mesidor from Miami and seek to bolster the cornerback room with the second pick. And they could do that with Clemson corner Avieon Terrell.
Avieon Terrell Posts From Cowboys Facility
Terrell posted on Instagram from his visit to The Star, and broke his own news about the Cowboys visit. He is the brother of Falcons All-Pro AJ Terrell, another standout cornerback, who has been helping Avieon Terrell through the predraft process.
In fact, in an ESPN story about the brothers, AJ Terrell revealed a long text message he sent to Avieon just before he was to participate at the NFL combine in Indianapolis.
Said AJ Terrell: “Just taking him back on all the work we did, all the work we put in, just talking about how much he means to me on a personal note, just seeing how he grew up and took everything in and ran his own race — always being doubted and things like that, and just still coming out on top.”
Cowboys Concerned About 40-Yard-Dash Time
Avieon Terrell had a stellar career at Clemson on his own, a 2025 All-American and Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist who forced eight fumbles in his last two seasons with the Tigers. He is undersize, at 5-foot-11 with 31-inch arms and small hands, and he did not run the 40-yard dash at the combine–at this pro day, his 4.64-second time did not impress.
Terrell is said to have hurt his hamstring during his first run, though, so it’s hard to say how accurate his time was. But it’s a concern nonetheless.
While he lacks standout size and speed, Terrell wins with instinct and IQ. He would be a stretch at No. 12 but more of a comfortable fit at No. 20, with Pro Football Focus ranking him as the No. 23 overall prospect, and The Athletic having him at No. 27.
Avieon Terrell a ‘Polarizing’ NFL Draft Prospect
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler had Terrell on his list of the “most polarizing” prospects heading into the draft, something that the Cowboys are surely wrestling with. He quoted one evaluator saying that Terrell might have to move inside, which is not necessarily bad–the Cowboys need slot help–but would they want to use a first-round pick on a slot corner?
As a scout told Fowler: “It’s hard to ask him to cover one-on-one on the outside with that time. It’s an issue. I wish it wasn’t but it is. I think some teams will consider him more inside as a result.”