Nolan Bianchi asks Dan Campbell about facing Vic Fangio’s defense in Philadelphia on Sunday night.
Nolan Bianchi asks Dan Campbell about facing Vic Fangio’s defense in Philadelphia on Sunday night.
Allen Park — The 2024 NFL Draft was historic.
Not necessarily for the talent it possessed (it’s entirely too early to know how its members’ careers will turn out), but for the amount of offensive players selected in the first round.
Twenty-three of the draft’s first 32 picks were on the offensive side, including 14 straight to kick things off. Both marks set new league records.
The run on offensive talent — nine offensive linemen, seven receivers, six quarterbacks and a tight end — allowed for a number of highly-touted defensive prospects to slip, including cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Terrion Arnold. Once the Philadelphia Eagles selected Mitchell at No. 22 overall, it triggered the Detroit Lions to come get Arnold at No. 24, trading up five spots to make it happen.
Mitchell, who visited with the Lions before the draft, started 16 games for Philadelphia last season, helping the Eagles make a run that netted them their second Lombardi Trophy. Mitchell has been impressive in his 25 career games, posting an allowed passer rating of 72.4. He’s fit like a glove in coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense, which puts a priority on zone-match principals.
Sunday’s game at Lincoln Financial Field will give the Lions their first in-person view of Mitchell since the 2024 draft.
“I’ll tell you, he’s really grown. Even this year, just watching him from the first game to the Packers game the other night, he’s growing,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “I mean, he’s getting better and better and better. Just his coverage ability, he doesn’t get fazed, nothing really stresses him.”
Mitchell spent four seasons at Toledo, where he became the first player in school history to be named an All-American by all five major outlets in his career, first receiving the honor from the Associated Press and Walter Camp in 2022 before the American Football Coaches Association, Football Writers Association of America and Sporting News followed suit in 2023. Mitchell left the Rockets with 46 career pass breakups, setting a new program high.
Mitchell’s allowed passer rating in 2025 (60.3) ranks fifth among the 84 cornerbacks who have played at least 195 coverage snaps. Arnold (83.4), for reference, sits at 22nd. Cooper DeJean, who the Eagles drafted at No. 40 overall in 2024 to play nickel, has an allowed passer rating of 92.4, which ranks 37th.
The Lions and Eagles were the only teams in ’24 to select two cornerbacks in the draft’s first two rounds, with Detroit landing Arnold (Alabama) and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (Missouri) and Philadelphia nabbing Mitchell and DeJean (Iowa). Rakestraw suffered a season-ending shoulder injury during training camp.
Arnold, although he’s been ruled out for Sunday with a concussion, has been trending up lately, with encouraging performances against the Cleveland Browns (Week 4), Cincinnati Bengals (Week 5), Minnesota Vikings (Week 10) and Washington Commanders (Week 11). Over his last four outings, Arnold is on the hook for allowing only 89 yards on eight catches, per Pro Football Focus, and he logged his first career interception versus the Vikings.
Given their draft positions, Arnold and Mitchell are innately linked, and they’ll likely draw comparisons to one another for the foreseeable future. The Lions had their eyes on both players coming out of college. Mitchell will hope to use Sunday as proof his Eagles made the correct decision nearly two years ago. The Lions, with Campbell now calling plays on offense, will try do the opposite.
“We liked him (heading into the draft),” Campbell said of Mitchell. “He was just a little raw coming out of where he came out of, but he’s really taken off. They’ve done a good job with him.”
rsilva@detroitnews.com
@rich_silva18
Nolan and Richard break down the 44-22 win over Washington and preview Sunday’s game in Philadelphia.
Nolan and Richard break down the 44-22 win over Washington and preview Sunday’s game in Philadelphia.
