With a heavy early run on offensive players in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions got aggressive and traded up to acquire a player that most experts believed shouldn’t have been available. After executing a deal with the Dallas Cowboys, the Lions acquired pick No. 24 and selected Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold.

“He fits us like a glove,” Lions general manager Brad Holmes said of Arnold.

Pro ready habits, mentality

For those who wanted Jaylon Johnson (Bears cornerback) in free agency, well you just got him in the draft with the addition of Arnold. A student of the game, Arnold’s passion for football runs deep, and he possesses the confidence you would expect from a two-year starter at Alabama.

A film room junkie, Arnold is highly intelligent, competitive, and mentally tough. He prepares like a professional, is open to criticism, and has the awareness to implement what he is being taught. Holmes made a point of telling the media that he saw noticeable, incremental progress throughout Arnold’s development which points to his unlimited ceiling.

Holmes also added the fact that Arnold possesses a lot of significant traits that illustrate that he is wired the right way, including being “gritty” and playing with “a challenge mentality.”

Coverage scheme, positional range

Alabama played more zone last season than they have in previous seasons, leading to a wealth of experience in both zone and press man coverage schemes. While he’s comfortable in both schemes, he does prefer to play in more man concepts.

“I prefer man coverage,” Arnold told Justin Melo of the Draft Network. “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 would often match up with the opponent’s top wide receivers and is comfortable following them all over the field, including into the slot. Arnold was recruited to play safety but quickly shifted to corner under Alabama coach Nick Saban. That safety experience has given him a unique experience to understand how to function out of the slot, something most pure outside corners don’t possess.

Skill set

In coverage, Arnold is fluid and smooth, plays with loose hips, and is sticky in coverage. His natural instincts are to turn his head and locate the football, while his film preparation helps him always be in the right spot to make impact plays. He has tremendous ball skills, including five interceptions and 17 pass breakups in 2023.

He’s physical in coverage, challenging wide receivers for jump balls, while also providing excellent run support. He is a sound tackler in space, plays downhill, and hits like a safety.

With his preparation, range, and ball skills, Arnold makes plays all over the field.

Challenge to start

Arnold is expected to immediately challenge for a starting role in the Lions defense.

This offseason, the Lions made a point of adding talent to their cornerback room. They traded for Carlton Davis, signed Amik Robertson, and re-signed Emmanuel Moseley. Davis has locked up a starting role, but Robertson and Moseley were expected to challenge to start on the opposite corner after the release of Cam Sutton. Now with Arnold in the fold, the Lions starting competition just got a whole lot deeper.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has 120 million reasons to celebrate, so why not pop some champagne?

The Lions and their breakout star — famous for being able to recite every wide receiver selected before him in the 2021 NFL draft — agreed to a four-year contract extension on Wednesday. The deal includes $77 million guaranteed and has a maximum value of more than $120 million, according to NFL Network. The new deal makes St. Brown one of the highest-paid receivers in the NFL at $28 million per season, per CBS Sports, for the first three years of the contract.

NFL DRAFT LIVE UPDATES: ‘The scene in Detroit is insanity’: Maximum capacity reached at NFL draft

The Lions also signed right tackle Penei Sewell to a massive extension Wednesday worth up to $112 million, one day before the NFL draft got underway in downtown Detroit, giving football fans plenty of reasons to celebrate as they made their way to the event.

After officially inking his new deal with the Lions, St. Brown was met by a group who sprayed him with silly string as they all jumped up and down in celebration of the mammoth new contract.

In a video the Lions shared on social media, St. Brown celebrated the big news properly by shaking up what appeared to be a bottle of champagne, spraying it like he just won a championship.

Can you blame him?

St. Brown, a former fourth-round pick out of USC, has come to represent much of what the new Lions regime under general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell is all about. St. Brown is the epitome of a “chip on the shoulder” player, and now he will be with the Lions for the foreseeable future.

[ Lions fans: Celebrate the team’s epic 2023 season with a new book from the Free Press, “From Grit to Glory.” Order now! ]  

Today is the start of the NFL Draft, broadcasting live from Detroit’s Campus Martius downtown, where more than 300,000 spectators are expected to visit over the next three days. Maybe you’re interested in keeping up when the league’s 32 teams announce their picks alongside your fellow Detroit football fans (maybe while enjoying a snack), but are less enthusiastic about the prospect of dealing with crowded park and ride shuttles, waiting in line to use a porta potty, or paying surge prices for beers and well drinks.

A number of food and drink establishments are taking the Draft action to the neighborhoods, by offering livestreams of the event from television screens, where guests can enjoy a cozy meal with friends without the hassle. Here are a few last-minute options of restaurants, bars, and cafes in the neighborhoods for those of you looking for a way to watch the Draft, just not sandwiched between masses of people downtown.

Ivy Kitchen and Cocktails (9215 E Jefferson Avenue) — Ivy Kitchen and Cocktails in Detroit’s East Village is showing the NFL Draft on TVs both in the restaurant and bar area. Reservations are encouraged for brunch and dinner service throughout the weekend.

El Rancho Mexican Restaurant (5900 Vernor Hwy) — Southwest Detroit stalwart El Rancho Mexican Restaurant is playing the Draft live from TVs in the bar area. Enjoy a plate of tacos, a sizzling fajitas platter, or share a bunch of appetizers like queso flameado and Detroit-style botanas.

The Commons (7900 Mack Avenue) — Any multitaskers out there? Catch up on that pile of laundry at the Commons — the eastside’s coffee shop/laundromat — and then stop by later to catch Draft festivities on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. And maybe even squeeze in a little fellowship among neighbors. The Christian-based nonprofit MACC Development (which operates the cafe) will feature food trucks, giveaways, games, and Faith Night on Friday, with special guest Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield. Programming kicks off at 5:30 p.m. each day. On Thursday, things wrap up at 8:30 p.m., 9 p.m. on Friday, and 3 p.m. on Saturday. Registration is required for each day.

The Congregation (9321 Rosa Parks Boulevard) — Set in a restored 1920s church with a sprawling patio and garden, the Congregation is an any-occasion type of spot where you can get a charcuterie board and a bottle of Beaujolais with friends or a veggie sandwich and a cold brew while reading a book. For each day of the Draft, the Congregation hosts a tailgate party from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., featuring yard games and food from Mr. Pit Master BBQ.

Atwater Brewery and Tap House (237 Jos Campau) — Sip on Detroit-style beers at Atwater’s Tap House just under two miles from all of the Draft hype and only a short stroll to the Robert C. Valade Park on the Detroit Riverfront. To commemorate the momentous time in Detroit, the brewery has launched Big Pick IPA, brewed in the Midwest style. The beer has a 6.5% ABV and is brewed with Centennial and Cascade hops.