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As the 2026 NFL Draft nears, we'll continue scouting cornerback prospects. For more information on how this process works, check out our primer on scouting cornerbacks with the PFF Scouting Assistant.
Our reports continue with Clemson standout Avieon Terrell.
Terrell (5-foot-11, 186 pounds) started for approximately two-and-a-half seasons at Clemson and posted consistently good PFF coverage grades across his three year career with a 76.5 in 2023, a 77.7 in 2024 and a 76.9 in 2025. He finished the 2025 season with an 83.5 PFF defense grade, allowing 29 catches for 340 yards and three touchdowns.
Terrell played a much bigger role in the slot in 2025, as he had 110 slot snaps (up from 12 in 2024) and 463 out wide. Terrell is a well-rounded defensive back prospect that can play inside or outside, is very sound in run support and is an effective blitzer.
Man Coverage Skills: 7/10
Terrell played man coverage on 44.1% of his coverage snaps in 2025. On those opportunities, he allowed 13 catches for 175 yards and two touchdowns while breaking up four passes and posting a 66.7 man coverage grade. Also, he forced an incompletion on 24% of man coverage snaps. Terrell is sticky in off coverage, but he had a few reps where he put himself in good position but got too grabby.
Zone Awareness IQ: 7/10
Terrell can play outside or inside. In 2025, he played 112 snaps at slot corner, 276 snaps at boundary corner and 200 snaps at field corner — and appeared at home everywhere he lined up. Last season, Clemson’s preferred zone concept was Cover 3, and Terrell’s most-played zone coverage role was a deep ⅓ — which he did on 92 snaps.
Terrell covers ground in a hurry going backward and has easy flexibility to keep his eyes on the QB when dropping to a deep ⅓ coverage role. He recorded a 74.9 PFF zone coverage grade in 2025.
Ball Skills: 6.5/10
Terrell can struggle with bigger-bodied receivers at the catch point due to his lack of weight.He didn’t tally a single interception in 2025 and dropped one he should have caught, but the Clemson product did break up five passes. In 2024, he garnered two interceptions and 10 pass breakups.
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Terrell is another player whose true-timed speed won’t be known until his Pro Day. He has the change-of-direction ability and quickness to play in the slot. However, Terrell had a few reps in 2025 where he was beaten deep and didn’t show the speed to recover.
Press Technique: 6.5/10
What stands out about Terrell’s press coverage ability is that he possesses very good flexibility in his core and lower body that helps him stay in phase with wide receivers. He appears very comfortable when pressing from a slot alignment and has the change of direction to mirror his man in either direction.
Terrell was in a press alignment on 140 coverage snaps in 2025. One press coverage snap where he showed amazing technique and body control was against Syracuse in Week 4 (Q2 0:49), where he started with an outside leverage alignment but was able to come inside the wide receiver and actually end up in front of him to break up the pass on a go route.
Run Support/Tackling: 8/10
In 2025, Terrell was frequently asked to blitz from a boundary corner alignment in Clemson’s defense, which made him an active participant in run defense. He’s good at evading blocks from wide receivers and lead blockers and has a knack for defeating pull blocks — either by sidestepping them or by taking them head on and winning.
Terrell has ranked among the nation’s top 20 cornerbacks in PFF run-defense grade for two straight seasons (T-.No. 17 in 2025 with an 85.2 and was No. 3 in 2024 with a 90.7). Likewise, Terrell’s tackling improved from 2024 — where he posted a 61.9 PFF tackling grade and a 14.1% missed tackle rate — to 2025, where he sported a 77.6 PFF tackling grade and reduced his missed tackle percentage to 10.4%.