'Fly the Plane, Don't Crash It': Falcons' Jerry Gray on CB Tandem

Atlanta Falcons cornerbacks A.J. Terrell and Jeff Okudah's NFL journeys couldn't be more different.

Despite being drafted 13 picks apart in 2020 (Okudah No. 3 and Terrell No. 16), the past three years has witnessed one get traded and the other emerge as of the league's best young players.

With injuries limiting Okudah over his first two career seasons, the former Detroit Lions corner played just 10 games before posting a career-year in 2022. However, the Ohio State product was then shipped to Atlanta in the offseason for a 2023 fifth-round draft pick.

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"You've got two first-round draft picks, so they were really good in college," assistant head coach of defense Jerry Gray said, via Locked On Atlanta. "And the thing is that A.J., he did a great job in his second year being All-Pro. And now, we've got to get Jeff to do the same thing he did when he was at Ohio State.

"You've got two competitors; we know they compete because you wouldn't get drafted in the first round. You've got great skills, so you wouldn't drafted in the first round. Now, we've got to blend those two guys together and let them see that when you've got two great players on opposite sides, now they can't just target one guy, and that's what we're trying to do."

Gray, who joined the Falcons in January, gets the opportunity to coach a promising young defense of Okudah, Terrell, Richie Grant and Jessie Bates III, along with experienced veterans such as Grady Jarrett and Calais Campbell.

"One philosophy of mine is when an airplane pilot is flying the plane, the most dangerous is taking off and landing. You can hit autopilot - we need to get to autopilot. But you know what? Fly the plane, don't crash it - that's all we want you to do.

"Let the young guys go - you be football players. I don't want robots, I want you talking, I want you communicating. 'Hey coach, I see this, can we do this?' That's what we really want."

Okudah, 24, is not only looking forward to this "change of scenery," but also being able to play alongside an All Pro and take this Falcons defense to another level.

"It's going to push us to be better every single day," Okudah said. "Both of us are natural competitors, so when we step on the field, each of us want to be the best that we can be."

If Okudah and Terrell can be the best they can be, the Falcons should be in prime position to make some noise in the NFC South this season.

Follow Riley Sheppard on Twitter @RileyDSheppard.

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