The Dallas Cowboys didn't hire a defensive coordinator who specializes in the secondary to ignore the defensive backfield in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. They have two first-round picks at their disposal, and I would be genuinely shocked if Dallas doesn't come away with a DB on Night 1.
Cornerback is clearly a sore spot, but the Cowboys have slim pickings at the position. Mansoor Delane is unlikely to still be available when Dallas is on the clock at No. 12, and Jermod McCoy has reportedly been wiped off of their draft board entirely, which leaves Clemson's Avieon Terrell if they want a CB.
Unfortunately, Terrell has been free-falling down the draft board amid a brutal pre-draft process. He missed Clemson's Pro Day due to a hamstring injury, which he re-aggravated during his own private Pro Day after running a 4.64-second 40-yard dash that has put his Round 1 status in serious jeopardy.
However, that didn't seem to deter the Cowboys. According to NFL Draft analyst Ryan Fowler, the Cowboys hosted the 21-year-old on a 30-visit, adding that Terrell met with defensive coordinator Christian Parker, DBs coach Derrick Ansley, and several other coaches on Parker's staff.
The Dallas Cowboys are not taking Avieon Terrell off their draft board yet
Per Underdog's mock draft simulator, Terrell's presence in Round 1 has gone from 90% to just 63% of the time, so he went from a first-round lock to a guy who is truly on the first-round borderline. And he went from the locked in CB3 to CB5 or CB6 if Colton Hood and Chris Johnson sneak into Round 1.
Terrell is clearly a good football player the Cowboys shoud be getting more answers on, but this entire pre-draft process has been brutal for him. The All-ACC cornerback logged a dismal 4.94 RAS and at 5-foot-11 and 186 pounds, he may be too small to be a full-time boundary CB in the NFL.
Avieon Terrell is a CB prospect in the 2026 draft class. He scored a 4.94 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 1554 out of 3069 CB from 1987 to 2026.
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 7, 2026
He injured his hamstring after his second 40 and did not complete testing.https://t.co/qDUnaJW0fN pic.twitter.com/BL99QWy98H
The younger brother of Atlanta Falcons' cornerback A.J. Terrell, Avieon has many of the traits that have made his big brother one of the best corners in the NFL, including his tenacity as a tackler, inability to give up big plays, and physicality at the catch point, so a bad Pro Day should not ruin that.
Wouldn't you know Jerry Jones narrowly missed out on A.J. Terrell during the 2020 NFL Draft, so he could be on a quest to ensure he doesn't miss out on the younger Terrell brother either. But regardless, the Cowboys need CB help, and if they believe Parker can help develop him, I get it.
Taking Terrell at 20 would be a questionable approach, but if they're able to trade back (or out of the first round entirely) and still land a first-round talent, that would be another story.