By Brad Berreman
After trading up to get him in the first round of the draft, Lions general manager Brad Holmes said Terrion Arnold "fits us like a glove" and was their No. 1 cornerback by a notable margin.
Based on everything, from his immediate moment on the draft stage to things he has said since, Arnold does seem like a fantastic all-around fit for the Lions. He has also faced adversity, getting benched during the 2022 season, but he used it as a motivational tool and made himself into a first-round pick and the top cornerback in this year's draft for a lot of analysts.
Arnold does not lack for confidence, comparing himself to Deion Sanders, Darrelle Revis and Jalen Ramsey during a draft week appearance on the God Bless Football podcast. He called himself a shutdown corner after being drafted, and called himself a workaholic during his introductory press conference on Friday.
All of those words from Arnold are the expected refrains in the afterglow of being drafted. There shouldn't be any doubt about him working hard to back those words up, but by the same token it's a lot of PR right now.
A particular quote from Terrion Arnold confirms his fit with the Lions
Arnold's overall skill set and intangibles, not to mention moving from safety to cornerback in college and being a two-year starter at Alabama for Nick Saban, drove him up the Lions' draft board.
But this response, from an interview with Justin Melo of The Draft Network when he was asked if he prefers playing man or zone coverage, confirms how good a fit Arnold is.
"I prefer man coverage. It’s special to take another man’s willpower away from him in man coverage. No matter what, you can’t do anything with me in man coverage. In zone coverage, sometimes you get those softer cushion routes and the receiver can find a hole in the zone. They can complete a pass in that situation. But man-on-man coverage, that’s dog-on-dog. Let’s find out who the better player is."
Arnold sees man coverage as a challenge to prove he's better than the receiver he's covering, and he wouldn't be the only cornerback to say man coverage is his preference along that same line. But he also sees it as a "special" opportunity to "take another man's willpower away."
If that doesn't channel some things we've heard Dan Campbell say in the past about the mentality he wants Lions' players to have, nothing does. Arnold will fit right in with this team and its culture.