A.J. Terrell may be underappreciated by his NFL peers, based on the fact that he didn’t make the NFL Top 100 Players of 2022 list, which is voted on by the players themselves.
However, the former Clemson standout and current Atlanta Falcons cornerback is certainly not underappreciated by this ESPN NFL Insider.
NFL Network has been gradually unveiling the NFL’s Top 100 Players of 2022, and while Terrell was excluded from the list despite having an incredible 2021 season, ESPN’s Field Yates showed his respect to Terrell on social media this week.
Yates made it clear how much he thinks of Terrell when he wrote via Twitter on Thursday, “I try not to overreact too much to the NFL Top 100 players list but there is no universe that exists in which there are 100 football players better than A.J. Terrell.”
Added Yates: “A lockdown corner who is (apparently) criminally underappreciated.”
Terrell was considered by many to have been a Pro Bowl snub after his breakout season last year, but he did earn second-team All-Pro honors by the Associated Press.
A first-round pick of the Falcons in the 2020 NFL Draft (16th overall pick), Terrell tallied 81 total tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, 16 passes defended and three interceptions in 16 games this season.
Terrell didn’t allow more than 32 yards in coverage in a game last season, allowed fewer than 20 yards in 13 games last season and also recorded the lowest passer rating allowed (47.5) and the lowest completion percentage allowed (43.9), according to PFF. Additionally, per PFF, the Atlanta native yielded only 200 yards over the course of the entire season.
At Clemson, Terrell was a first-team All-ACC selection in 2019 and third-team All-ACC selection in 2018. He racked up 107 career tackles (3.5 for loss), 29 pass breakups, six interceptions (returned for a total of 160 yards including a 44-yard touchdown) and two forced fumbles in his three-year career from 2017-19.
I try not to overreact too much to the NFL Top 100 players list but there is no universe that exists in which there are 100 football players better than A.J. Terrell.
A lockdown corner who is (apparently) criminally underappreciated.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) August 25, 2022
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