A.J. Terrell Cracks PFF's Week 2 'Rookie Studs' List

Encouraging for the 2020 first-round pick.

Author:
Zach Hood
Publish date:
Sep 24, 2020 11:31 AM EDT

Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus (PFF) is running a 'Rookie studs and duds' list following each week of the NFL season. For Week 2, an Atlanta Falcon made the cut.

Rookie cornerback and 2020 first round draft pick A.J. Terrell out of Clemson was remarkably better vs. the Cowboys compared to his Week 1 struggles vs. the Seattle Seahawks.

Here's Monson's write up on Terrell's Week 2 performance:

Week 2 overall grade: 79.8
Few players struggled as badly as A.J. Terrell in their Week 1 debuts. He, along with the rest of the Falcons, was lit up by Russell Wilson and the Seahawks' passing attack. While the Falcons' defense still couldn’t slow down the opposition much in Week 2, Terrell at least had a significant bounce-back game on an individual level. He was thrown at three times, with Dak Prescott and the Cowboys instead attacking the combination of Darqueze Dennard and Isaiah Oliver a combined 21 times. Of those three targets, Terrell allowed just one catch for seven yards, notching a pair of defensive stops.
Terrell was also sent on a corner blitz once and registered a knockdown of Prescott on the play. It was a bumpy start for the first-round rookie on opening weekend, but Week 2 was far more encouraging.

Terrell played like a first-round pick in Week 2, and the Falcons will need him to do that going forward if they have any chance of turning this season around.