Back in the 2024 NFL Draft, there was quite a debate about who was the top cornerback prospect in the class. Terrion Arnold and Quinyon Mitchell were pretty evenly regarded as the best CBs in the draft, and the Detroit Lions were clearly in the market for a first-round corner.
The Lions wound up not getting a crack at Mitchell, who played collegiately at nearby Toledo. Philadelphia selected the rangy Mitchell with the No. 22 overall pick, making him the first CB off the board.
Detroit quickly made a move to trade up and land Arnold with the No. 24 pick.
To this point, both teams are pretty happy with their young corners. But it’s always fun to ponder if the Lions would have been interested in taking Mitchell if he had been available.
Detroit head coach Dan Campbell was asked about the team’s pre-draft view on Mitchell, ahead of facing off against him and the Eagles on Sunday.
“Yeah, we liked him,” Campbell stated. “We had him in here, had a visit with him. I’ll tell you, he’s really grown. I mean he’s – even this year just watching him from the first game to the Packers the other night, he’s growing. I mean he’s getting better and better and better. Just his coverage ability, he doesn’t get fazed, nothing really stresses him, can play the ball in the air.”
Mitchell has started all 25 games he’s played, racking up 22 PDs and 77 total tackles. Arnold, currently sidelined with a concussion, has 87 tackles and 18 PDs, plus an interception, in 23 games. Arnold has battled through early penalty issues to quickly emerge as a very good coverage corner. Mitchell has been a little better, allowing a lower career passer rating against despite some issues handling downfield routes in his rookie campaign.
Campbell reiterated the Lions positive evaluation on Mitchell,
“But we did, we liked him. 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.”
