The Detroit Lions on Thursday night addressed one of their biggest issues as a football team and did so by moving up just five spots from the 29th overall selection to the 24th. The organization was essentially gifted the best cornerback in the entire NFL Draft in Alabama’s Terrion Arnold.

Arnold has a strong football IQ coupled with playmaking instincts that are off the charts. He is a ball hawk and fundamentally sound cornerback. He fills a major void on the defensive side of the football, especially the secondary where the team struggled immensely in 2023.

Confidence and composure are in the DNA of Arnold as he took center stage in front of 275,000 football fans in the City of Detroit. The crowd chanted his name as he took the microphone and his energy and passion was on full display. Arnold said to the crowd, “Hey, I’m home man. I’m home. These fans gonna be crazy man, golly.”

Terrion Arnold taking the mic and directly addressing Detroit fans is the moment of the night. pic.twitter.com/K99DIA8oWo

— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) April 26, 2024

Shortly after showing his love for the fanbase, he answered a question from reporter Kaylee Hartung regarding the Lions being a Super Bowl contender in 2024, and how Arnold is going to help the franchise get there. He said, “You already said it. Ima help them win a Super Bowl… (The crowd then erupts) “Listen to that [crowd]. We are gonna go crazy.”

The addition of Arnold solidifies a key piece on defense and brings an athlete that fits the scheme like a glove, according to general manager Brad Holmes. Playing at Alabama has set him up to succeed in a Pro-style system and he can play both zone and man coverage. Actually, he is on the record mentioning how he prefers man coverage over zone due to the ability to take another man’s willpower away from him. This came from an interview with Justin Melo of Draft Network roughly a week ago.

The Detroit Lions gave up their third round draft pick (No. 73 overall) and received a 2025 seventh-round pick. Knowing how Holmes operates, that seventh-round pick next year could be a stud player even though the odds of success in the NFL in those later rounds are a little more challenging to hit.

Ultimately, the Lions got their shutdown cornerback who will be a key focal point on their already improving defense. Arnold will only improve the secondary which is much needed with many key divisional additions from the Bears, Vikings, and Green Bay Packers this offseason.