A first-round draft bust is not something the Detroit Lions have had to deal with in quite a while. Not since Jeff Okudah back in 2020. That one did not work out. Brad Holmes and his team have been pretty good at this whole drafting thing, but one analyst believes that the Lions might have a bust soon in Terrion Arnold.
Bleacher Report's Matt Holder put out a list of first-round picks from the 2024 NFL Draft who he believes need to do certain things to avoid being a bust. He included Arnold on that list. Here is his reasoning.
"Fair or not, the Detroit Lions selected Terrion Arnold with the hopes he could solve one of the most significant issues from the year before, as cornerback was arguably their biggest weakness heading into last year's draft.
However, the 24th overall selection got picked on as a rookie, surrendering the 10th-most receptions (56) among cornerbacks and a 99.2 passer rating when targeted during the regular season, according to Pro Football Focus.
"I learned a lot," Arnold told reporters after the Lions' playoff loss. "I feel like coming into this role, it was a lot. I got better as the season went on. Started to find myself. It's just one of those things where I’m really looking forward to next year."
Last year was certainly a learning experience for the Alabama product. Speaking to his growth down the stretch of the team's schedule, he is expected to be a starter heading into year two.
However, especially while playing for a team that has Super Bowl aspirations, he can't get too comfortable or afford to get off to a slow start in 2025.
Detroit signed D.J. Reed during free agency to serve as the defense's No. 1 cornerback and brought in Avonte Maddox as a veteran insurance policy.
While Maddox has primarily lined up at nickelback, 2024 free-agent addition Amik Robertson proved to be a versatile player last fall and could move to the boundary if Arnold isn't on top of his game."
For as much as I like Terrion Arnold and as much as Lions fans like him, too, it's not hard to see that he got targeted a lot in 2024 and that he allowed quite a few catches. 60 total.
There are a few things worth noting. 39 of those catches were allowed in his first five games when he was very clearly having trouble with a lot of things. He also led the league in penalties with eight during that time.
In the next 11 games, he allowed 21 catches and committed two penalties. There was a very clear improvement over time, as Arnold noted.
The other thing worth noting is that Arnold played more man coverage snaps than any rookie in the NFL last year, with 555. That is a lot for a rookie to take on, but he took it on really well. He allowed 26 catches and a passer rating of 79.3. That's really good for a rookie.
It was zone coverage where Arnold struggled. 25 catches on 30 targets with a rating of 146.4. There's no doubt that he needs to get better in that area.
The Lions certainly don't seem to have any concern with Arnold. They did sign D.J. Reed, and Reed is expected to be CB1 on this team, but that's replacing Carlton Davis. Avonte Maddox was signed by the Lions to play safety as well, so there shouldn't be any concern that he could be waiting in the wings in case Arnold struggles.
This secondary is built for him to be their CB2 and eventually take over the top spot on the outside. There shouldn't be any thoughts about Arnold being a bust.
