A.J. Terrell’s family had another Atlanta football moment to celebrate when the Falcons selected his younger brother, Avieon Terrell, with the No. 48 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The pick brought Avieon into the same secondary as A.J., giving parents Aundell Terrell Sr. and Aliya Terrell two sons on the same hometown NFL team.
A.J. reached the Falcons first. The Atlanta cornerback was selected with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft after starring at Clemson and becoming one of the top defensive backs in that class. Six years later, Avieon followed a familiar path through Westlake High School and Clemson before landing with the same franchise in the second round.
The Terrell family story has always been rooted in sports. A.J.’s full name is Aundell Terrell Jr., and he is the son of Aliya and Aundell Terrell Sr.
He is also the second of four children, with athletics running through the family long before the brothers became NFL teammates.
Aundell Sr. had his own football background before watching his sons reach the professional level.
He was a standout running back and cornerback in Rochester, New York, helped Edison Tech win the City Catholic championship in 1993, and later played semi-pro football.
rack was also a major part of his approach to developing athletes in the family, with speed and competition becoming part of the household foundation.
That background helps explain why the Terrell children grew up around high standards. A.J. became a five-star recruit, played both ways at Westlake, went to Clemson, won a national title, and returned home as a first-round pick.
Avieon grew up watching that path closely, then built his own résumé at the same high school and college before Atlanta made him its second-round selection.
Avieon’s football interest started early. As a child, he wanted to wear A.J.’s gear after games and practices.
Aundell Sr. remembered him as a small kid in oversized equipment, saying, “He’s so small, big helmet, and he’s crying because he wants to put the helmet on.”
Years later, the younger brother is no longer just following A.J. around the field. He is preparing to share an NFL locker room with him.
The family’s athletic reach goes beyond the two Falcons cornerbacks.
Ariel Terrell, the oldest sibling, competed in track and field at Western Kentucky, while Arieaunna Terrell also ran track at West Georgia.
Avieon is the youngest, and his rise now gives the family another professional football milestone after years of watching the older siblings compete.
Aliya has also been part of the family’s most emotional football moments. When A.J. was named the Falcons’ 2025 Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee, Aliya and Aundell Sr. watched as Avieon surprised him with the announcement. Aliya described the pride in simple terms, saying they understood “the grind, the hustle” behind A.J.’s journey.
That same journey now circles back through Avieon. A.J. had once hoped his younger brother would carve out his own NFL identity somewhere else, away from the natural comparisons that follow siblings in the same sport.
The draft did not send Avieon away from that story. It brought the brothers together in Atlanta, where both will now carry the Terrell name in the Falcons defensive back room.
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His Falcons bio notes that more than 1,000 high school student-athletes compete at the annual relays, keeping his connection to Westlake and the Atlanta-area sports community active beyond Sundays.
Avieon now joins that same local story with a chance to build his own name. He arrives as a Clemson cornerback, a second-round pick, and the younger brother of a proven Falcons starter, but his path has not been only about following A.J.
He had to handle the pressure that came with the Terrell name, prove himself at Westlake, earn his role at Clemson, and now begin his own professional career in Atlanta.
For Aundell Sr. and Aliya, the 2026 draft created a rare moment. One son had already become a first-round pick and established himself with the Falcons.
Another heard his name called by the same team six years later. The result is a family reunion inside an NFL secondary, built from years of football, track, competition, and support.
The Terrells now have two sons wearing Falcons colors, both shaped by Westlake, Clemson, and a family that has long understood what the game demands.
For A.J., it adds another chapter to a career already tied deeply to Atlanta. For Avieon, it is the beginning of his own NFL story, with his older brother waiting beside him.
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