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TV analysts love Detroit Lions' NFL draft pick DB Terrion Arnold: 'I'm home'
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- TV analysts love Detroit Lions' NFL draft pick DB Terrion Arnold: 'I'm home'
The Detroit Lions have their guy and it received overwhelming praise when it was announced.
General manager Brad Holmes traded up five spots in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft to select Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold , considered one of the best defensive backs in the draft at 24 overall. The Lions traded the 29th pick and a third-round pick to move up, also acquiring a seventh-round pick, according to NFL Network.
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The pro-Lions crowd in attendance at the NFL draft experience in downtown Detroit erupted in applause after waiting with anticipation after it was announced the Lions moved up. Arnold was the second cornerback taken, following Toledo's Quinyon Mitchell who went at 22. He was a shutdown corner for the Crimson Tide and will be joining Brian Branch as recent Alabama alumni in Detroit.
"God allows everything to happen for a reason and I'm right where I need to be," Arnold said on the ESPN broadcast. "I'm home."
CARLOS MONARREZ: Lions' 1st-round deal for Alabama CB Terrion Arnold fills their biggest need
Terrion Arnold, a cornerback from the University of Alabama, celebrates with Detroit Lions fans after he was picked in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft at the NFL draft theater in Detroit on Thursday, April 25, 2024.
Arnold, a two-year starter at Alabama, was talked up highly by his former coach Nick Saban on the ESPN broadcast, where he called him a "special guy" and talked about his relationship with Saban's family and commitment to the team.
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"He's got a great personality, everyone loves him," his former coach said.
The main ESPN crew also had praise after the pick was announced.
"He's got the ball skills and he's got toughness," Mel Kiper said. "Sometimes he plays a little too physical if you can believe it, but I thought he got less handsy, less grabby."
"He showed NFL ability game in and game out. Makes tackles, a couple pass breakups, in the Kentucky game he was outstanding."
Arnold finished his Alabama career with six total interceptions, 26 passes defended and 108 tackles in three seasons. In 2023, he had five interceptions and 17 pass breakups as the main shutdown corner in Alabama's defense.
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"He can play inside, he can play outside and he'll tackle, Kiper said. "That's the most underrated part of cornerback in the NFL, you have to tackle."
Arnold didn't test as well as some expected in the NFL combine, posting a 4.50 40-yard dash time, but the analysts do not believe that is a concern for him at the next level because of his size and intelligence.
"It's not a concern for me," Theo Riddick said. "You mention the 4.5, because of the instincts he plays with. Sometimes you're going to have guys that run 4.2 or 4.3 40s that don't have instincts. He has instinct. He can play inside, he can play outside. The ball skills. The best is yet to come."
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' first round NFL draft pick Terrion Arnold: 'I'm home'
