Is Alabama CB Terrion Arnold CB1 in the 2024 NFL Draft? There are many contenders for the CB1 mantle this year, but Arnold might have the most complete combination of coverage ability, support utility, and untapped upside.
Terrion Arnold’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’0″
- Weight: 196 pounds
- Position: Cornerback
- School: Alabama
- Current Year: Redshirt Sophomore
Terrion Arnold, like Trevon Diggs before him, began life at Alabama as a safety. The athletic phenom was a five-star recruit according to On3 and 247 Sports and was a four-star by Rivals and ESPN. No matter where we looked, he was a top-five player at the position entering college.
Like teammate Kool-Aid McKinstry, Arnold was originally set to try his hand at being a two-sport athlete at Alabama. But Arnold was one of the few Crimson Tide defensive backs to earn a starting role as a redshirt freshman, and basketball quickly became an afterthought.
Alabama CB Terrion Arnold already sees the Hall of Fame in his future. 🔥#RollTide | #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/nECrmhW5LE
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) February 29, 2024
Basketball was Arnold’s first love, and football wasn’t the major focus until college. But once Arnold made football his priority sport, he underwent a massive ascent as a dominating 2024 NFL Draft prospect.
In 2022, Arnold amassed 45 tackles, a tackle for loss, an interception, and eight pass breakups. It was a great season, but it was only a premonition of the astronomical leap Arnold would take in 2023.
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As a redshirt sophomore in 2023, Arnold followed a steep linear developmental arc to become one of the best CBs in the nation. Along the way to the CFB Playoffs, he racked up 63 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, a sack, five interceptions, 12 pass breakups, and a forced fumble.
After taking his lumps early on against Texas, Arnold gradually morphed into a menacing presence in the defensive secondary, and he’s now one of the best overall prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Arnold’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Prototypically built CB with a low center of gravity and exceptional proportional length.
- High-voltage short-area athlete with absurd foot speed, twitch, and change of direction.
- Brings hyper-elite explosiveness out of breaks and can extinguish vertical separation.
- Endlessly fluid CB with uncommon redirection freedom, swivel, and hinge flexibility.
- Can use short-area twitch, corrective foot speed, and fluidity to shadow WRs to stems.
- Has the long-strider recovery speed and range to close gaps and undercut deep passes.
- Patient and disciplined press-man CB who uses feet first, matching with violent motions.
- Can use successive jams to gather and carry, weaponizing length with precise strikes.
- Plays with incredible sense and instincts in man, mirroring with lightning-quick reaction.
- Has instant reaction to stimulus overtop route breaks, sequencing his motions in a blink.
- Can use brisk shuffle-steps to maintain hip leverage while staying low in his stance.
- Turnover generator with excellent ball skills, timing, and catch-point authority.
- With his short-area energy and physicality, can play on the boundary or in the slot.
- Energetic support DB who attacks downhill with keen eyes, relentlessness, and angle IQ.
- Aggressively sets the edge and executes crack-and-replace plays with absolute voracity.
Weaknesses
- Long speed, while exceptional, might be a notch below the elite mark.
- Occasionally overcommits vertically in Cover 3, giving space on hitches and comebacks.
- Has improved his IQ in zone but can experience lapses with pass-on and carry rules.
- Can get baited into drifting off drag and mesh receivers by overlapping vertical routes.
- Has room to tighten his pedal in zone to minimize susceptibility to inside-outside fakes.
- Can better control his high-energy motion at the top of pedals to quicken transitions.
- Can be baited into check-punching at the line, which can disrupt his transition timing.
- At times, can be over-reliant on grabs and extraneous physicality to recover positioning.
- Occasionally loosens tackle wrapping technique when exploding into contact situations.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Arnold grades out as a blue-chip prospect and a top-10 talent in the 2024 NFL Draft. He’s my personal CB1 in the 2024 NFL Draft class, and especially for man-heavy teams that value run support at CB, Arnold has immediate appeal and impact starter upside.
As one might expect from a former five-star recruit, Arnold is a special mover. In short ranges, he has an incredibly uncommon mix of foot speed, hyperactive twitch, and fluidity. And as a vertical mover, he’s an instant accelerator with the long speed to recover ground.
Expanding on the physical foundation, Arnold has the traits to be a lockdown cover man and a devastating support presence.
His discipline in press-man is age-defying, and he has the reaction speed and low center of gravity to erase WRs from existence, as well as the hinge flexibility to pinch insanely tight angles overtop comeback routes. Meanwhile, in support, he’s a fast-flowing attacker with range and physicality.
Zone coverage is where Arnold stands to improve the most. There are times when offenses can saddle him with indecision and hesitation on overlapping routes, and he’s still learning how to be more confident with his pass-on and carry responsibilities.
That said, even in zone coverage, Arnold showed growth over the course of 2023, and he has the smooth swivel flexibility, eye discipline, closing speed, and playmaking range to thrive in that phase as well.
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At just 21 years old, Arnold has a long prime ahead of him. And with a little more refinement, he can be a true impact starter who specializes in man but holds his own in zone. And he has the slot versatility and playmaking authority to be the central moving piece of a secondary.
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