ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons used their first pick of the 2026 NFL draft on Friday night to select Clemson cornerback Avieon Terrell, who will join older brother A.J. Terrell in the team’s secondary.
Avieon Terrell was the first pick for the Falcons’ new leadership team of president of football Matt Ryan, general manager Ian Cunningham and head coach Kevin Stefanski.
The Falcons created “bookend brothers” at cornerback by selecting the younger Terrell at No. 48 overall in the draft, which started with Thursday’s 32-pick first round. A.J., who also played at Clemson, was Atlanta’s first-round pick in 2020.
The brothers hugged at the family’s draft party when the Falcons’ second-round pick was announced.
“I just feel blessed to be able to play on the field with my brother, my blood,” Avieon said. “I feel good. It’s something that I talked to him about. And here we go.”