Cornerback Terrion Arnold was selected 24th overall by the Detroit Lions in the NFL Draft. By his retelling, however, he could have gone a lot earlier had a coin landed differently.
Arnold appeared on “The Next Round” podcast to discuss his draft experience and how interested the Lions were in him. The former Alabama defensive back seemingly also had interest from the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 13, as he told the podcast that coach Antonio Pierce had claimed the pick wound up being a literal coin flip.
How did the Raiders decide between drafting Terrion Arnold and Brock Bowers?
A coin flip. pic.twitter.com/oHAcFeeyIx
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) May 7, 2024
“The Raiders coach, they called me after the draft,” Arnold said. “They were like, ‘We actually had a coin toss between you and Brock Bowers. It landed on him.’ I was like, oh, wow.”
Presumably, Pierce was not speaking literally. More realistically, the Raiders’ decision could have gone either way, but they ultimately tilted to Bowers. Then again, the Raiders have made some bizarre picks in the past, so maybe it can’t be completely ruled out.
Arnold was viewed as one of the top defenders on the board, and he would have been the first one to go had the Raiders selected him. Ultimately, he lasted all the way to No. 24, much to the delight of the Lions.
