Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold is heading into his second season, and it’s fair to say expectations are high for the 2024 first-round pick. Arnold showed a good amount of growth in his rookie season, and he’s turned heads all throughout training camp.
And it wasn’t just media and fans in attendance who have noticed a strong jump from Arnold this offseason. Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard offered some very high praise for the 22-year-old cornerback. After acknowledging how good Aidan Hutchinson has looked in training camp, Sheppard told the Bleav in Lions podcast that Arnold has been the one of the more impressive stars of camp.
“T.A., man. I’ve been thoroughly impressed with him, not only in training camp but also the things he’s been doing in the spring,” Sheppard said.
Sheppard took the compliment a step further, suggesting Arnold could be establishing himself as a top corner in the league.
“The job that (defensive backs coach) Deshea (Townsend) has done with that player, he’s looking like a CB1 that can go follow people and do it on a consistent basis,” Sheppard said.
Much like his predecessor Aaron Glenn, Sheppard warns not to get too high on a player too quickly—and he doesn’t want it to go to Arnold’s head before the work has been done—but it’s clear the Lions coach is excited for what could be coming for Arnold. He not only credits Arnold for the work he’s put in and the help from Townsend, but some additions to the cornerback room, particularly D.J. Reed, the veteran cornerback who signed a three-year, $48 million contract with the Lions this offseason.
“I think it’s a mix of the development and growth that Deshea’s worked with him on, but also the addition of D.J. Reed I think has added a level of maturity to that room, but also a level of detail that I’m not going to say has been missing. It’s just the standard has been set now,” Sheppard said.
Arnold finished his rookie season with 60 tackles, 10 passes defended, and a fumble recovery, but he was also tagged with 11 penalties—second most of any defensive back in 2024. Those tapered off as the season went on, and although he finished the season with a 51.5 PFF grade, from Week 11 and beyond that number jumped to 58.9.
“I think as the season went, you saw some of the pass interferences go down,” Townsend said earlier this offseason. “But our next step is how can we get the ball back to the offense? How can we transition from man to ball, from it not being a PBU to an interception?”
Arnold has yet to log his first interception, but from the way players and coaches are talking about him, it doesn’t sound far off. Just in the past few weeks, Arnold has received praise from Brad Holmes, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Dan Campbell. We’ll see if he can live up to the hype with the season now just a few days away.
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