Terrion Arnold delivered one of the highlights of training camp a couple days ago with a one-handed interception against Amon-Ra St. Brown in 1-on-1's. He's been equally sticky in team drills. The Lions are only a few practices deep, but Arnold is all over the ball. The former first-round pick is starting to look like a second-year player.
Take it not from us, but his new defensive coordinator: "Terrion Arnold took a huge leap, in my opinion, this offseason," Kelvin Sheppard said Thursday morning prior to practice.
"He progressed during his rookie year, but he’s come in not only this offseason but this training camp looking like a different guy. His body is more developed, but also from the neck up, the mental aspect of the game, he’s seeing it faster, he’s feeling the routes faster," Sheppard said. "That’s a guy I’ve already seen a leap in."
The Lions and Sheppard's predecessor Aaron Glenn asked a lot of Arnold as a rookie. He played more man-coverage snaps than any other corner in the NFL. And while it wasn't always perfect, particularly with pass-interference penalties early in the year, Arnold allowed a completion percentage under 50 percent and a passer rating of 75.8 on man-cover throws. But it gnawed at him that he didn't produce a single interception.
"It's coming, though," Arnold said. "Once you get one, they just start coming."
Arnold said the goose egg in the picks column bothered him to the point that he "watched tape every day" this offseason, "thinking about the plays that I could have made. I’m just one of those guys that I want to be a perfectionist. If you chase perfection, you won’t fall short of it."
Perfection, of course, is impossible for a cornerback. It's an unforgiving job tilted toward the quarterback and the receiver. But Arnold can make a bigger impact in year two by making more plays on the ball. That was the message he received from Lions defensive backs coach and former longtime NFL corner Deshea Townsend after last season.
"Our next step is, how can we get the ball back to the offense?" Townsend said this spring. "How can we transition from man to ball, from it not being a PBU to an interception? That's one of the things that we talked about and some of the things we're working on to see how we can improve it: Where and when do I take a peek? When I'm in phase, go ahead and look."
That's exactly what Arnold did on his interception against St. Brown. In the same practice, he broke up a pass to Jameson Williams and denied another to St. Brown.
The Lions' secondary looks deep with playmakers, even with the loss of No. 1 corner Carlton Davis III. That job is up for grabs between Arnold and free agent signing D.J. Reed. Sheppard and the Lions would likely say they have two No. 1's. But in the big-time games against big-time receivers, someone has to be The Guy.
In year two, Arnold might be Him.
"I got experience now," he said. "I pride myself on trying to go out there and get the ball. Just taking it one day at a time. It don’t just happen overnight. You gotta trust the process, and I’m staying down for it."