ALLEN PARK – A day after the Lions’ shocking playoff exit to the Washington Commanders, Terrion Arnold was suddenly no longer a rookie.
A busy and eventful season since Detroit drafted him No. 24 overall in last year’s NFL Draft was officially in the books. And Arnold is confident that experience has set him up for future success.
“I’ll be the best corner in the league pretty soon,” Arnold said Sunday afternoon as Lions player cleaned out their lockers at the teams practice facility. “I’m very confident.”
Arnold, the Alabama product, was placed into a starting role on a returning playoff team and one of the NFL’s best defenses from Day 1 with the Lions.
By the end of the season, he had played more coverage snaps, 699, than any other rookie cornerback in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.
Arnold said he improved throughout that trial-by-fire season.
“I feel like coming into this role, it was a lot,” Arnold said. “I got better as the season went on, started to find myself, and it’s just one of those things where I’m looking forward to next year.”
Through his first four games of the season, Arnold seemed a universe away from being the best cornerback in the NFL. He was flagged eight times in those four games while giving up 16 catches as teams repeatedly targeted him on coverage.
Arnold, for his part, said those penalties reflected a lack of experience, not a lack of ability, as he adjusted from college officiating to the NFL.
“It wasn’t a matter of if I was beat, it was a matter of just turning your head and locating the ball,” Arnold said. “And those are things that you can fix. It was never a talent thing as far as lining up with someone who’s better than me, it was just things from my inexperience, not seeing. The only way to get better and gain experience is to be out there.”
In his last 14 games of the season, including the divisional game against Washington, Arnold was flagged just twice. Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn the rookie cornerback’s targets also dropped as he improved.
“TA early on, he was getting targeted a lot, then he started improving, really,” Glenn said before the Lions’ regular season finale. “So, I don’t think his targets are actually up to where they were early in the season.”
After a late-season injury to fellow starting cornerback Carlton Davis, Arnold often drew even tougher assignments. And the Lions’ defensive scheme, heavily reliant on man coverage, didn’t make things easy for a young cornerback.
“It was nothing but experience,” Arnold said. “Like I always said, a lot of teams sit back and play zone. I had to go out there and challenge wide receiver 1’s, and I’m young”
Arnold recovered from an ankle injury in the Lions’ regular-season finale to suit up against the Commanders. And even after the heartbreak of that game, he’s thinking about when he can suit up again.
“I’m looking forward to playing again,” Arnold said. “That’s all I think about. When I woke up this morning I said ‘I can’t believe it’s over.’ But the only way to ease the pain for this type of heartache is to get back to the drawing board and get back to work.”
