‘Tears of joy’ in Atlanta after Falcons bring Terrell brothers together in secondary

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — A.J. Terrell’s poker face was tested Friday night. It failed.

Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski called Terrell shortly before Atlanta was set to pick with the 48th selection of the 2026 NFL Draft in Friday’s second round. Stefanski told his starting cornerback that the team was going to take his younger brother and fellow cornerback Avieon Terrell with the pick. Then he told A.J. to keep it quiet.

“I’m expecting my little bro’s phone to ring and my phone rings,” A.J. said. “I didn’t want to show too much emotion because he was standing right next to me. It was hard for me to hold my water for a minute.”

“Yeah,” Avieon said, “he tried to act like he didn’t know, but I know Bro, I read through him.”

The brothers starred at Westlake High School in Atlanta and at Clemson but have never been teammates due to their seven-year age difference. That will change now after the Falcons used their first pick of 2026 draft to reunite the two.

“I knew when that 47th pick went away, I was going to get that call from my hometown team, I felt it,” Avieon said. “Tears of joy. It means the world to me, just to be able to play with Bro. Me on one side, my brother on the other side, time to get to work. I’m just blessed.”

The Falcons took A.J. Terrell with the No. 16 pick of the 2020 draft, and he has started 93 games and intercepted six passes in Atlanta. He signed a four-year, $81 million extension with the team in 2024.

“It’s crazy right now,” A.J. said after grabbing his brother’s phone to talk to reporters at the family’s draft party in Atlanta. “I don’t even know how I’m feeling. Another surreal moment. Watching little bro play ball for years, just coaching him up, being the big bro, and now being able to strap up with him and go to work with him every day, playing on Sundays, right at the crib, can’t make it up, man. Just want to give all glory to God.”

Avieon Terrell was The Athletic draft expert Dane Brugler’s No. 4 cornerback and No. 27 prospect in the 2026 draft. He was considered a potential first-round pick until he ran a 4.64-second 40-yard dash at Clemson’s pro day while nursing a hamstring injury.

“We’re excited to get him at the point of the draft where we got him, didn’t think that Avieon was going to be there,” Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham said. “What a cool experience for him and his family. It was fun being able to call both of them and hear their excitement.”

During a midday strategy session Friday, Atlanta’s president of football Matt Ryan asked Cunningham which available players he would not trade off of. The top name on that list was Terrell, Cunningham said.

“He’s tough, competitive, scrappy, plays the ball, plays the way we want our guys to play,” Cunningham said.

Terrell had nine tackles for loss, eight forced fumbles and 23 passes defended in his final two seasons at Clemson.

“I’m a dog, a competitor,” he said. “I’m coming in to be a leader. I’m a very vocal leader. They are getting somebody who is very versatile, can do anything in the secondary.”

Avieon Terrell played both outside corner and nickel for the Tigers, which allows him to compete with Mike Hughes for the starting outside cornerback spot opposite his brother or provide insurance at nickel in case Billy Bowman is slow to recover from the Achilles tear that ended his 2025 season. The Falcons hosted Avieon Terrell on a top-30 visit during the pre-draft process.

“You can never have enough good corners,” Stefanski said. “I worked for Mike Zimmer and I have heard that many, many times.”

A.J. Terrell said he had imagined the idea of playing with his brother before the draft but did not think it was a realistic hope.

“I played the story in my head a few times,” he said. “I didn’t think it would happen, though. That was just me being a big bro, ‘What if, what if, what if.’”

When Avieon Terrell’s call finally came, “My heart dropped,” Avieon said.

“I looked right at A.J. and told him, ‘It’s time, bro.’ It feels amazing,” he said. “It means the world to me. I prayed for it last night.”