Part of the reason there is elevated excitement for the upcoming Detroit Lions season is the revamped secondary, which features a highly-touted rookie cornerback in Terrion Arnold.
For the No. 24 overall pick, his first test will be a challenging one. The Los Angeles Rams feature a Super Bowl-caliber quarterback and two elite wide receivers.
Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn expressed during his weekly media session the former Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back has already demonstrated the ability to move on to the next play when a mistake occurred out on the football field.
This mindset is often a separating characteristic between great players, as big plays are bound to happen when corners line up in man coverage. Because Arnold has handled these situations well in training camp, the coaching staff has confidence that he can navigate struggles in games.
"My expectations for him is to be a damn good player in this defense. It fits who he is. As a corner, things happen in this league and I would tell you that that's probably one of his better traits, he can move onto the next play. I'm talking good or bad," said Glenn. "The one part in training camp that really stuck out, a situation happened with I think him and Carlton (Davis). He was the first one, as a young player, to say, 'Let's forget about that, let's go on to the next one.' When I heard that, that let me know everything about who he was. Good or bad, he's ready to move on to the next play. That's a really good trait for a corner."
Matching up daily against one of the league's top offenses should bode well for Arnold. After working against the likes of Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown in training camp, he should be adequately prepared for the likes of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua.
The Lions are hoping this translates, as Arnold is expected to start opposite of Carlton Davis when the season begins on Sunday Night Football.
"Yeah, he's sticky. He's sticky as all get out," said offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. "He's given us some issues there during training camp, 1-on-1s and we've tried to pick on him a little bit and it hasn't been super successful. So I'm encouraged to see where he's at. He certainly lets you know he's out there, in more ways than one."
Head coach Dan Campbell is not expecting Arnold's debut to be perfect, but is optimistic the moment will not be too big for the inexperienced NFL player.
"Listen, we’re gonna let him go compete. That’s really the plan here. Let’s let him go. He’s gotten better all through camp, he really has," Campbell said. "He’s had significant improvement. Now, this’ll be his first game and I don’t think anybody expects it to be perfect, but I do know this, he’s gonna go out there and compete and he’s gonna learn. He’s gonna represent himself just fine. It may not be perfect, but he’ll be there for us. I love the way he’s wired, I love the way he competes and love the way he’s gotten better every day.”
