The Detroit Lions traded up to secure their cornerback of the future in Alabama’s Terrion Arnold Thursday.

Moving up five spots, the Lions made a swap with the Dallas Cowboys to ensure that they would land one of the top cornerbacks in this year’s class. It was a shrewd move by Lions general manager Brad Holmes.

“The good thing about those other buildings, I don’t know much about, but when you saw his name still close enough to get up, it’s exciting,” said cornerbacks coach Deshea Townsend. “For us to get him is, really, a good move for our team, a good move for the room, the competition in the room. It’s exciting.”

Christopher Walsh covers Alabama football for Bama Central. He answered five questions regarding what the Lions are getting in Arnold.

1.) What are Lions getting in Terrion Arnold?

Walsh: Terrific cornerback and team leader. Guy with an outstanding attitude and gets the big picture. If you would have told me last year that Arnold would be a first-round selection, I would have said “no way.” He just switched over from safety to cornerback, and is only going to get better.

2.) Nick Saban raved about him on the draft broadcast. What did he bring to the Alabama Crimson Tide defense? 

Walsh: I’ve seen Saban’s wife get close to players, but nothing like she did with Arnold. The guy is a sponge when it comes to learning, and you factor in all his physical tools and he’s a standout player on many different levels. There aren’t too players who got more out of their time at Alabama during the Saban era.

3.) Will he succeed playing press man coverage in the NFL?

Walsh: Yes. Being a former safety, he’s going to be able to be physical at the line and take a lot of receivers right out of the play. He can play the outside, though. Alabama plays a lot of man coverage on the outside, and he held up just fine in the SEC last season.

4.) How soon do you think he will be a starter in the NFL?

Walsh: Very quickly. Having Brian Branch around is only going to help him as well.

5.) What is the origin of ‘LANK’ and how did it galvanize the team?

Walsh: “Let All Naysayers Know.” It was Arnold and his best friend, Jalen Milroe, who went into last season up to his eyeballs in a quarterback competition. Teammates say both came up with it and ran with it. There was a lot of doubt in Tuscaloosa at the start of last season, especially after losing to Texas. And look where they eventually ended up.

‘He Loses Focus’: Bill Belichick Critiques Terrion Arnold

Former NFL coach gives his scouting report on Terrion Arnold.

The Detroit Lions have made a committment to upgrade their secondary.

After trading up to select cornerback Terrion Arnold, Detroit’s secondary will look vastly different when the 2024 NFL season is set to begin.

Following Arnold’s selection, which was cheered by supporters who attended the draft in-person, former NFL head coach Bill Belichick provided his scouting report with Pat McAfee.

One of the most successful coaches in league history explained what he liked about the former Crimson Tide cornerback’s game, and things he saw on film that must be corrected.

“Terrion’s a tough kid. He’s a good tackler. You can see right here in the open field. That’s a nice job breaking down, wrapping up on the tackle. He’s obviously been well coached by Coach (Nick) Saban,” Belichick explained. “So, this is a big play, the final play of the game there. Up by four points against Texas A&M. And here he is really making the play of the game breaking up this pass there on the goal line to preserve the victory.”

The former Patriots coach highlighted plays where the opposing receiver had far too much separation, something Belichick noted Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn needs to correct.

“There’s some plays where he just kind of, I don’t know, loses his concentration. There’s just too much separation here on this route. And that happens to him a number of times. I’m sure Coach Glenn will get that straightened out. But, he’s got talent. He just, at times, just like I said here, he loses focus, gets out of position and missed a tackle and and gives up a big play to Texas.

“So, I think this is just a consistency thing. There’s enough talent there. He’s a good kid. He’s a good teammate. I think he’ll fit in well in Coach Campbell and Coach Glenn’s culture. He just really needs to work on more consistency with his fundamentals. This is a nice play right here on the coverage, but then he kind of loses it at the end. And this happens to him where he gets back shouldered a couple of times throughout the season. This is twice in the in the Vanderbilt game — a little too high on the receiver and doesn’t react quick enough.”

Arnold’s former coach, who also provided draft analysis following his departure from Alabama, indicated Detroit’s first round pick has all the tools to develop into a solid cornerback.

“Terrion has all the tools to be a really good corner,” Saban said. “He can play man-to-man, he can play the ball in the deep part of the field and he’s a good tackler. He’s aggressive, he can play in the slot. I think he can also play nickel. He can play press and closer to the line. He’s a good tackler. So all the critical factors for a DB, he’s really good at.”

The Detroit Lions have selected Terrion Arnold

"He's got talent and he's a great teammate..

I think he'll develop that consistency under Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn"

Bill Belichick #PMSDraftSpectacular https://t.co/DstTt7n0Sd pic.twitter.com/BqsLTsv0PP

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 26, 2024

Nick Saban breaks down what the Lions are getting with @AlabamaFTBL's Terrion Arnold 🙌 pic.twitter.com/vqpHN2nzkJ

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 26, 2024