DETROIT — While Terrion Arnold was taking center stage in front of a crowd of 275,000 in downtown Detroit — aligning the Lions hat resting on his head, dapping up the commissioner in his new city — Lions GM Brad Holmes was in Allen Park, wondering how one of his favorite prospects fell in into his lap.
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When Holmes emerged from Detroit’s NFL Draft war room, he was almost at a loss for words trying to describe how it happened. The Lions had a need at cornerback. Arnold was No. 1 on their board. Holmes spent the night monitoring and waiting for the right moment to strike. He first picked up the phone in the teens, inquiring about a potential trade up. Then the 20s. Then, finally, pick No. 24. All in an effort to land a player he believes can be a difference-maker.
“I don’t wanna say speechless,” Holmes said, “but (we’re) overly thrilled with how tonight went.”
The @Lions move up to make a huge pick in front of their hometown crowd! @ArnoldTerrion joins the Pride 🦁
📺: #NFLDraft on NFLN/ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/FWdRTIOrWd— NFL (@NFL) April 26, 2024
For good reason. Arnold, the feisty, high-IQ Alabama product who doesn’t lack confidence, was widely considered to be the top cornerback in the 2024 draft. That he was there for the taking at No. 24 was a possibility Holmes hadn’t given much thought to, at least before the evening started.
But this was a strange draft. Holmes said he knew it would skew toward the offense. In many ways, that was always going to benefit a Detroit team looking to improve defensively. However, few could’ve predicted what took place Thursday evening. The first 14 picks in the draft were all offensive players. In fact, 17 of the first 23 selections were of the offensive variety. You couldn’t help but get the sense that the board was shaping up nicely for Holmes and Detroit’s front office, should they explore a trade-up. But it had to be the right guy.
Turns out, Arnold was their guy all along.
“I mean, I was calling late teens,” Holmes said Thursday night. “I was calling just trying to see. I didn’t think he was going to be there. … Really trying and thinking we were going to have to settle for a different player at a different position but still trade up. … Never thought he would be there, but we couldn’t be more thrilled.”
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In Arnold, the Lions were able to match a long-term need with a best-player-available approach. It’s not often you can do that. Holmes said Arnold was Detroit’s No. 1-ranked cornerback, which is why he parted ways with No. 29 in the first round and 73 in the third to acquire him. Reading between the lines, Arnold might’ve been one of the few players remaining with a first-round grade on Detroit’s board. If so, it’s not hard to see why.
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Arnold was one of five FBS players with at least five interceptions and 12 passes defended (17 total). Nick Saban is on record saying Arnold is his favorite Alabama prospect in the class. He’s wired the way the Lions want their corners to be. He has the ability to play man coverage. He has a short memory when things go wrong. He’s equipped with a high-football IQ. He possesses a desire to be great, openly discussing his goals of winning defensive rookie of the year and wearing a Hall of Fame jacket one day. He has a physicality that shows on tape and a confidence that borders on cocky. It’s all there.
Just hear from the man himself.
“I’m a shut-down corner,” Arnold told local media Thursday evening. “I’m coming in to guard receiver ones off the rip.”
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Holmes is no stranger to doing whatever’s necessary to get his guy. He’s also no stranger to Alabama. Two years ago, he traded up to No. 12 to acquire Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams. Last year, Holmes traded down from No. 6 to No. 12 and wasn’t worried about the potential backlash from selecting Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs — a prospect Holmes would later reveal he would’ve been comfortable taking at six. That same draft, Holmes traded up three picks in the second round to acquire Alabama defensive back Brian Branch, who forced his way into the starting lineup when many thought he’d start as a reserve. And this year, picking lower in the first round than ever before, Holmes was still able to land one of his premier prospects in, you guessed, the Alabama guy.
Spoiler alert: It’s worked out OK for them.
“I have so much respect for Nick (Saban) and everything that he’s done with that program,” Holmes said. “Those are one of those places where, when I was a young Southeast scout, you just go to Alabama and you just want to just camp out there for a week. Not only (because) they had really good players, but you knew the level of player that you were getting, you saw the type of practices that they were having and the information access, but, I mean, ultimately, the coaching that they were already receiving — those guys practice hard, they (are) practicing intense. … When you pull kids out of those programs, you pretty much have a good feel.”
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And so, Arnold is the pick, and he has a chance to join a budding list of Lions building blocks. Penei Sewell and Amon-Ra St. Brown. Aidan Hutchinson. Gibbs, Branch and tight end Sam LaPorta. These are all players acquired through the draft, all viewed as part of a core that believes it can win a Super Bowl as early as this season. This Lions’ roster is the healthiest it’s been in some time, with few notable holes. Holmes and company positioned themselves to make it hard for a rookie to crack the starting lineup. They can afford to bring Arnold along slowly if he’s not ready out of the gate, with new corners Carlton Davis III and Amik Robertson holding down the fort. That said, Arnold is plenty talented to win the job out of training camp and force the Lions’ hand — similar to Branch a year ago. Competition should bring out the best in a room that has quickly improved.
Of course, the long-term expectation, when acquiring a prospect like Arnold, is for him to become CB1. He’s the first outside cornerback Holmes has drafted in the first or even the second round since becoming Lions GM in 2021, which is notable given his extensive time as an area scout focusing on DBs. He’s picky when it comes to the position. He won’t draft one just to draft one. That he went up for Arnold means something.
It means something to Arnold, too.
“Brad, he traded up to get me,” Arnold said. “That means a lot to me. I’m going to go out there and I’m going to show why he did it.”
The Lions are counting on it.
(Photo: Mandi Wright / USA Today)
