![\"Avieon](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/avieon-terrell-celmson-tigers.jpg\")
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(Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Minnesota Vikings<\/a> can go in different directions with the No. 18 pick at the 2026 NFL<\/a> Draft. One area that they could bolster is the cornerback position for defensive coordinator Brian Flores.<\/p>\n Flores and his group were at the center of the five-game win streak to end the 2025 season on a positive note. As a result, the Vikings\u2019 front office could decide to give him a player who strengthens the team as it looks to push for a playoff spot in the 2026 season.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, if Minnesota decides to go with a defender, they have been warned by Bleacher Report\u2019s Alex Ballentine to stay away from former Clemson Tigers<\/a> standout Avieon Terrell. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Vikings have not really used early picks on cornerbacks in the first two rounds during the Brian Flores era,\u201d Ballentine wrote in his April 19 article<\/a>. \u201cYou can argue they would be better off, but the defense has been pretty solid so the strategy is working. Avieon Terrell\u00a0isn\u2019t the prospect to change that pattern.<\/p>\n \u201cTerrell comes in at No. 22 on our big board so he wouldn\u2019t be a reach. However, there are size concerns as the Clemson product is 5\u201910 \u00be\u201d, 186 pounds with 31\u2033 arms\u2026 Terrell\u2019s competitiveness and potential will likely make him a first-round selection, but the Vikings would be better off look at safeties with their first selection.<\/p>\n What Does Avieon Terrell Bring to the Table<\/p>\n Last season at Clemson, Terrell posted an 83.5 overall defensive grade from PFF<\/a>, ranking 38th among 897 qualified cornerbacks. His 76.9 coverage grade placed him 154th, while his 85.2 run-defense grade ranked 44th at the position.<\/p>\n He did not record an interception but finished with five pass breakups. Opposing quarterbacks posted a 96.9 passer rating when targeting him, completing 29 receptions in his coverage. Terrell also added 32 solo tackles in run support and in the open field.<\/p>\n Ballentine added what B\/R scout Daniel Harms had to say about Terrell that might give the Vikings pause for concern regarding the draft prospect and potentially address another part of the team.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSoft press technique can be slightly slow, leading to quicker receivers beating him quickly across his face,\u201d Harms wrote in Terrell\u2019s scouting report.<\/p>\n Adam Thielen Issues Strong Draft Message to Vikings<\/p>\n With the draft a few days away, former Vikings wideout Adam Thielen said he wants Minnesota to focus on the offensive line on Day 2 of the draft, but didn\u2019t give any specific prospect names the team should target.<\/p>\n \u201cI think protecting the quarterback is a pretty important thing in this league,\u201d\u00a0Thielen said on the \u201c2026 NFL Draft Preview Show\u201d<\/a>\u00a0on April 17. \u201cIf you can go find a guy that can maybe create depth or maybe be a Day 1 starter, we\u2019ve seen both here and on other teams that can make a huge impact.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not the fancy choice to pick an interior offensive lineman, no offense to them. Love those guys. But it\u2019s such a benefit to your team. And you see teams that make it long in the playoffs and make a run in the playoffs have good offensive lines that secure them and let those quarterbacks do their thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tEduardo Razo<\/a> Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Vikings\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images) The Minnesota Vikings can go in different directions with the No. 18…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":870458,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2073],"tags":[7,233,259,2529,6,234],"class_list":{"0":"post-870457","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-vikings","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-minnesota","10":"tag-minnesota-vikings","11":"tag-minnesotavikings","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-vikings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116435523451514028","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=870457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/870458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}