Atlanta Falcons 2020 NFL Draft pick analysis: CB A.J. Terrell

A.J. Terrell has plenty of upside, but he struggled in his last collegiate game — Clemson's National Championship loss to LSU. The Atlanta Falcons say they didn't worry about that.

One game.

Despite a sterling career full of big games and big plays, A.J. Terrell endured talk of only one contest in the lead-up to the 2020 NFL Draft.

Critics dissected the former Clemson cornerback’s play — some good, plenty of bad — against LSU star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow and the rest of the Tigers.

But the Atlanta Falcons ignored that.

They shook off trade rumors and stood pat with the No. 16 overall pick, selecting Terrell. General manager Thomas Dimitroff said he locked in on Terrell early in the pre-draft process.

“This guy is fast, this guy is athletic, this guy has the ability to play the ball in the air,” Dimitroff said. “We have big expectations for A.J. to come in and help continue to build this defense.”

Terrell will slide into the outside corner role vacated by Desmond Trufant. In a lot of ways, Terrell is similar to Trufant. Both players stand at least six feet tall, ran the 40-yard dash in less than 4.45 seconds at the NFL Combine and play the ball well.

Well, except in the National Championship game against the Tigers.

Terrell shadowed Chase for much of that evening, but the LSU wideout grabbed nine catches for 221 yards and two touchdowns. He burned Terrell deep on a couple of plays. At the NFL Combine in February, Terrell called Chase the toughest receiver he faced last season.

“No, that performance wouldn’t have dissuaded us (from drafting Terrell) at all,” Dimitroff said last week. “He was in phase quite a bit. Burrow obviously had a hell of a game, dropped the ball in a lot. There were a lot of opportunities there that they really capitalized on. We look at the full picture, as you can imagine. He had a great, very substantial game in the National Championship the year before — Alabama game. He had a number of other games where he really stood out in our minds. So one game does not dissuade us.”

With Clemson making the College Football Playoffs all three years Terrell played there, he had abundant opportunities to take advantage of, and most of the time, he did just that.

He posted six career interceptions, including a house call against Alabama in the 2019 National Championship game.

His strengths: He moves fluidly in coverage and relies on his athletic gifts to challenge receivers at the catch point. He possesses great range.

His knocks: He’s a willing tackler, but his form can be inconsistent.

Most analysts slapped a late-first- or early-second-round grade on Terrell, but all agree he has upside.

The Falcons certainly hope so.

They believe he has plenty of great games ahead of him.