With the first round of the NFL Draft leaning heavily towards offence, the Lions saw the opportunity to jump up and land one of the top-rated defensive players on the board.
“I was calling (other teams in the) late teens,” Lions’ general manger Brad Holmes said in trying to move up. “I was calling just to see. I didn’t think he was going to be there.”
Terrion was one of 13 players invited by the NFL to sit in its Green Room for the draft, which usually reflects players considered high-end prospects.
However, the draft turned heavy to offence in the first round with six quarterbacks going in the top 12 picks and a defensive player not being taken until the 15th pick overall.
“Really didn’t think he was going to be there calling late teens, but really really trying and thinking we were going to have to settle for a different player at a different position, but still trade up,” Holmes said. “So, I’m still a little kind of – never thought he would be there, but we couldn’t be more thrilled.”
Arnold seemed overwhelmed by the pick wit the NFL announcing a single-day draft record of 275,000 while police officials estimating more than 400,000 on hand and exploding with excitement after commissioner Roger Goodell announced the pick in downtown Detroit.
“It was ecstatic man,” the six-foot, 189-pound Arnold said. “I grabbed the mic and I said, ‘I was home’ because I meant it. Like, you could feel it. You could feel the crowd, the energy and I’m just ready to get in front of our fans. I feel like we’ve got the best fanbase in the NFL.”
“I know you guys have heard me say a millions times we don’t care what position it is, we just want to get the best football player,” Holmes said. “But, it happened to match up with it’s the best football player and it was an area where we wanted to add one at some point.
“We didn’t know if we were going to be able to add on in the first round and, to be honest, we weren’t really anticipating being able to add one in the first round. So, we just kind of thought we would be out of the mix for a lot of these guys, especially him because he was our best. He was our highest-rated corner.”
In the previous two drafts, Holmes has jumped at a chance to take an Alabama prospect early and been rewarded.
He got receiver Jameson Williams with the 12th overall pick in 2022, running back Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th overall pick last year and defensive back Brian Branch in the second round last year with the 45th pick overall.
Considered one of the most charismatic players in the draft with a big personality, Arnold is quick and aggressive with the ability to play man coverage and is anxious to pair up with Branch again.
“Even talking to guys like Brian Branch I was like, ‘If I can get united with you in the secondary again, it would be elite’ because playing with him at Alabama, it was fun,” Arnold said. “We played off each other, fed off each other and I’m just glad I get to do it again.
“As far as competing against guys like Jameson Williams, being with guys like Jahmyr Gibbs, it means everything to me, man. Those are my brothers. It’s something special going on here in Detroit. I feel like they just need to take that one extra step and I think we could do it this year.”
Detroit ranked in the bottom six in the NFL last season and brought in cornerback Carlton Davis in a trade with Tampa Bay and added free-agent cornerback Amik Robertson after cutting ties with Cam Sutton after one season following a domestic violence report.
“The mindset checked. That box was checked and, obviously, the player and the skillset checked. As you guys know, it’s more than just the skillset for us. That’s the easy part. That’s the easy part to see if someone is athletic, if someone can run fast (and) can change directions. You can do that Day One, it’s like how’s a guy wired and we felt good about that.”
