Detroit Lions Improve Secondary; Draft Terrion Arnold With Pick No. 24

© Junfu Han & USA TODAY NETWORK

Terrion Arnold woke up on Friday morning still wearing the Detroit Lions hat he received the night before.

The Lions, drafting about a mile southeast of their home turf at Ford Field, bolstered their secondary after selecting the defensive back with the 24th pick of the NFL Draft on Thursday night.

“I’m so happy I slept with my hat on, man,” Arnold said in a video posted to social media on Friday.

Originally scheduled to draft No. 29 following a season where the team lost in the NFC Championship game, the Lions traded up to snag Arnold, giving up picks No. 29 and 73 to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for pick No. 24 and a seventh rounder in next year’s draft.

General Manager Brad Holmes was overjoyed to get Arnold, the team’s highest-ranked cornerback, at 24, telling the media in a press conference that he “never thought he’d [still] be there” and “couldn’t be more thrilled.”

Arnold figures to immediately be a key piece in a Lions secondary that struggled in 2023 and lost their top cornerback, Cam Sutton, this offseason.

Detroit’s defense allowed an opponent passer rating of 93.1 last season. Alabama’s opponents in 2023 only had a 50.7 passer rating against Arnold.

Additionally, the Lions’ defense finished the season ranked second-to-last in the NFL in pass yards allowed per game, giving up an average of 257 each week for a total of 4,562 yards. Over the course of the whole season, Arnold gave up just 441 yards at Alabama.

And for Arnold, there’s something extra special about the Lions.

The 21-year-old will reunite with former teammates Brian Branch, Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit. Holmes has favored players from Coach Nick Saban’s program in recent years, selecting an Alabama player in the first round for the third year in a row.

Arnold seemingly couldn’t be more excited to be playing in Detroit. Moments after being drafted, he grabbed the microphone on stage and announced “I’m home!” to a crowd of 275,000, many of whom were in Lions merchandise.

“There’s something special going on here in Detroit,” Arnold said to the media. “One pride, let’s get to work.”