2020 NFL Draft Big Board: Ranking the top ten cornerbacks

Projected Round: 2nd-3rd

Game reviewed: Notre Dame vs Clemson, 2018

Clemson’s junior cornerback A.J. Terrell is a bit tricky to scout as well, and could realistically be drafted higher than I have projected. Playing for one of America’s best college teams helps your bona fides with scouts in the NFL and if Clemson can win the College National Championship for the second year in a row, expect scouts to take Terrell much more seriously.

At 6-foot-1 190 pounds, he has all the physical traits you are looking for in an NFL cornerback. Terrell has the resume to back up his play, earning himself 5 interceptions and one return touchdown in the last 2 seasons.

2018 was his best season statistically, but his numbers this past season have shown a slight dip in tackles, interceptions and passes deflected. It’s hard to diagnosis this dip since it could just mean opposing offenses have stopped sending the ball in his direction.

Watching his film, Terrell does a good job using his physicality to knock receivers off their routes at the line of scrimmage without becoming too aggressive downfield. He has shown he has fast reaction times and can challenge receivers at the catch point. When the route stays shallow, Terrell has shown to be an excellent disrupter of the play and can use his physical traits to break up the play with relative ease.

His biggest Achilles heel I’ve seen on film is that he misjudges where the ball is going to end up further downfield and has a tendency to cut too early into the route, which can lead to potential problems deep downfield. His run support has also been spotty at times, along with his tackling. I saw several plays where fast, shifty offensive players were able to slide past Terrell with little effort because Terrell made a poor tackle attempt.

No matter what, he will influence the play somehow and may slow the receiver down when tackling. But you’d like to see better technique when tackling in open space.

Overall, my final reaction to Terrell’s film is that he is a great outside cornerback, who has trouble tackling and tracking the ball. Terrell is not a finished product and will need a season or two of development in the NFL before he could be trusted to be an every play, shutdown cornerback. But Terrell has all the tools and physical abilities needed to be an elite cornerback in the NFL.

If teams are confident in their coaches to teach Terrell at the next level and clean up some of his mechanics, expect Terrell to be an enticing second-day selection in the 2020 NFL Draft.