DETROIT -- Standing on stage in front of 275,000 roaring fans after being selected 24th overall in the 2024 NFL draft in downtown Detroit, new Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold took the microphone to deliver a message.
"I just wanna say Detroit, y'all got a star, man. I'm home! I'm home!!" Arnold shouted, while sporting a stylish, salmon skin print suit. "These fans are gonna be crazy."
For the third straight year, the Lions drafted an Alabama player in the first round.
He joined WR Jameson Williams, who was taken 12th overall in 2022, and RB Jahmyr Gibbs, drafted 12th overall in 2023. Additionally, the Lions selected Crimson Tide defensive back Brian Branch in the second round last year.
It was the third instance in the common draft era of a team selecting a player from the same school in the first round of three consecutive drafts, according to ESPN Stats & Information. From 2019 to 2021, the Raiders selected RB Josh Jacobs, WR Henry Ruggs III and OT Alex Leatherwood, also from Alabama. And from 2007 to 2009, the Kansas City Chiefs picked LSU stars WR Dwayne Bowe, DT Glenn Dorsey and DE Tyson Jackson.
Although Lions general manager Brad Holmes didn't originally plan on taking Alabama players in the first round of the past three drafts, he has no qualms with it.
"When you pull kids out of those programs, you pretty much have a good feel," Holmes said after this year's first round. "Not all of them are the same as a person, but you kind of know what they've already been through and you definitely know what kind of coaching they've had and you've seen them versus the highest level, and there's really not a whole lot more to see.
"Again, I never thought it would have worked out like that with the continuous Bama to Bama to Bama, but I'm not surprised either because we knew how we wanted to build our football team, and those guys have been a stalwart powerhouse in the top college football conference for a very long time."
Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who played at USC, called Detroit "damn near Alabama U" with all the recent additions.
Based off the production of Gibbs, Branch and Williams, St. Brown is confident Arnold will prove to be an asset.
"Alabama, they put out guys," St. Brown said. "They have a great system over there with the coaches they have there. You look at the guys we have here from Alabama, a bunch of guys that have played early and made plays and are gonna continue to make plays for us. So, I know he's gonna be straight."
Arnold was the ninth Alabama defensive back drafted in the first-round since 2010, breaking a tie with Ohio State for the most by any school over that span. He joins fellow rookie Ennis Rakestraw Jr., traded-for veteran Carlton Davis III and free-agent signee Amik Robertson as new cornerback additions for the Lions this offseason. They are looking to help a defense that allowed 7.8 yards per pass attempt in 2023, which was second-worst in the league to the Cincinnati Bengals at 8.1.
Detroit's secondary also allowed 34 completions on passes of 20-plus air yards, per ESPN Stats & Information. Only the Bengals (35) and Houston Texans (34) had as many. They allowed a 40.5% completion percentage on such passes, which was 20th in the NFL.
Arnold was a 2023 first-team AP All-American who registered five interceptions and 12 pass breakups in 2023, both tied for the most in the SEC. He's ready to make an impact right away.
"I'm a shutdown corner so I'm coming in to guard Receiver 1s off the rip," Arnold said. "I feel like I was already coming in with a chip on my shoulder just based on the draft and how everything was going but on top of that Brad [Holmes] traded up to get me. That means a lot to me. So, I'm going to go out there and show why he did it."
The Lions' Alabama pipeline under Holmes has been fruitful, with Gibbs, Branch and Williams all playing key roles in helping Detroit win its first division title since 1993.
Gibbs was named to the Pro Bowl, Branch ranked second among all rookies with three interceptions and Williams had a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers.
The night before the draft, Branch joined Arnold for his pre-draft dinner, and they had communicated throughout the season -- notably after Branch's pick-six off Patrick Mahomes in his rookie debut against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Williams also called him to congratulate him after being selected.
Gibbs is excited, too.
"I can't wait to have my boy Terrion up here," Gibbs told ESPN. "Coming from Bama, I know he's gonna be able to hit the ground running right away and help us get that Super Bowl. He and Brian Branch are gonna be a problem for years."
Over the past three years, Holmes and Lions coach Dan Campbell drafted five Pro Bowlers (Penei Sewell, Aidan Hutchinson, Gibbs, St. Brown and Sam LaPorta) -- the most in the league over that window.
Crimson Tide players have checked many of the boxes they and Lions scouts are looking for.
"I have so much respect for Nick [Saban] and everything that he's done with that program," Holmes said. "That's one of those places where when I was a young Southeast scout, you just go to Alabama and you just want to camp out there for a week because not only do they have really good players, but you knew the level of player you were getting and you saw the type of practices you were having and the information access. But ultimately, the coaching that they were already receiving, those guys practice hard. They practice intense."
Arnold did his best to describe the secret sauce at Alabama which allowed the school to produce 10 NFL draft picks in this year's draft, tied for the third most by any school.
"Development, and the importance of winning, and the importance of competing," Arnold said. "When you come to Alabama you have to change your mindset because it's going to be a dogfight every day -- as far as whether it's practice, definitely the games because you're going to get everyone's best, and Coach Saban pushed us to the limit every day.
"That's what the Lions are trying to do. We're trying to take that next step as far as winning that Super Bowl."