Detroit Lions rookie cornerback (and ex-Alabama star) Terrion Arnold said on The Next Round show that it was a coin flip between him and Georgia tight end Brock Bowers to go 13th overall in last month’s NFL draft to the Las Vegas Raiders, who ultimately went the offensive route with the pick.
Per Arnold: “The Raiders’ coach, they called me after the draft, and they were like, ‘You know, we actually had a coin toss between you and Brock Bowers and landed on him.’ I was like, oh wow.”
Whether the coach literally meant a coin was flipped or used figurative language isn’t 100 percent clear. The guess here is likely the latter, although the concept of literally flipping a coin to decide on a first-round prospect would certainly be a sight to behold.
The coach’s “coin flip” remarks wouldn’t totally align with what Raiders general manager Tom Telesco stated post-draft, in that Bowers was a “consensus guy” among scouts and coaches and that the team went with the best player available.
“You try and stick to [best player available] when you can,” Telesco said, per Levi Damien of Raiders Wire.
“It’s harder than you think sometimes because you’re adding to the football team, and we know where we are today. We are looking for today and the future. But a player like Brock, just the scouting staff, where they have him, what they thought about him, what the coaching staff thought. He’s really a pretty consensus guy.”
Raiders assistant general manager Champ Kelly, when asked about the coin flip report Wednesday, also said he could not confirm anything of the sort (h/t Justin Churchill of A to Z Sports).
The only people who truly know what went down in the Raiders’ draft room before Bowers went to Vegas were within those four walls at team headquarters.
However, the fact of the matter is that Arnold ended up being a Detroit Lion, and that’s a fantastic landing spot for a potential star, who was ranked 11th overall on the B/R NFL Scouting Department big board but fell down to Detroit at No. 24 with an overload of offensive players going early this year.
Not only is Arnold joining a team that was this close to making the Super Bowl last year, but the team’s championship window has remained wide open going forward.
Plus, he should slot in immediately at one of the team’s starting outside cornerbacks alongside Carlton Davis, so he’ll see action right away too and can positively contribute from Week 1.
2024-05-08 20:11:57
#Terrion #Arnold #Raiders #NFL #Draft #Coin #Flip #Brock #Bowers
