Barry Sanders gives his stance on Terrion Arnold to Detroit Lions in NFL Draft

With the NFL Draft right in its backyard, Detroit lined up it first selection and got ready to make the pick on Thursday night. Sure enough, the guy they wanted was still available, so the Lions snatched up Alabama defensive back Terrion Arnold with the No. 24 overall pick.

It was a pick meant to shore up the defense in a league where quarterback play figures to steadily improve.

“I mean you look at all these dynamic young quarterbacks coming into our division, we’ve got to have somebody to neutralize that out on the corner,” Lions legend Barry Sanders said on the set of the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday night. “I think also you just look at our defense, bringing in a personality that can really mix well with the guys that are there, that have had success. We were just a few steps away from a Super Bowl last year.”

Finding a way to inch ever closer to that goal is the key.

Detroit was right on the doorstep of a Super Bowl appearance and now knows what it takes. You need to be able to not just build a lead, but protect it once you do.

A guy of Arnold’s caliber secured via the NFL Draft should help.

In two seasons with the Crimson Tide, Arnold recorded 108 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss, a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, six interceptions and 26 pass breakups.

“So bringing in a guy who’s a proven winner, great program, who you know is a player and you figure can really fit into that scheme and those personalities in the locker room,” Sanders said.

Suffice it to say, the Detroit legend is a fan of the pick.

The 2024 NFL Draft will resume on Saturday at noon ET with a broadcast on the NFL Network, NFL+, ABC, ESPN and ESPN Deportes.