New Lions CB Terrion Arnold doesn't view Quinyon Mitchell as rival, source of motivation

Allen Park — Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown famously uses the 16 wide receivers selected ahead of him in the 2021 draft as a perpetual source of motivation. The team's new cornerback, Terrion Arnold, is wired a little differently, in that regard.

Despite having a similar level of self-confidence, Arnold made it clear at his introductory press conference Friday afternoon that he doesn't view Quinyon Mitchell, the only cornerback taken ahead of him in the first round, as a rival.

"Not at all," Arnold said. "When he was drafted, I was happy for him. I was proud of him. I just told him, 'Hey man, I’m looking forward to seeing you, looking forward to working out with you.' And that’s been the thing — I feel like in this sport, they like to pair us up against each other. We’re all just trying to achieve the same goal. ...I hope that he has success with the Eagles, I’m gonna be rooting for him, and although we weren’t friends going into the draft, I feel like we’re friends now.

Arnold said he felt the media at Alabama used to do the same thing between him and Kool-Aid McKinstry, another one of the top corners in this draft class who is expected to hear his name called in the early stages of Day 2.

"They tried to make us hate each other, but when you know who you are, and you’re confident in yourself, you don’t worry about things like that."

In a different world, Mitchell and Arnold could have been teammates. In a recent interview, retired coach Nick Saban acknowledged he was hoping the Toledo standout would enter the transfer portal and join the Crimson Tide. Instead, Mitchell stayed loyal to the Rockets, which still led to him being taken in the first round of the draft, No. 22 overall by the Philadelphia Eagles.

"Obviously, if he would have came to Alabama, I would have loved it," Arnold said. "It means I could have played that much more on the inside. We could have rotated and we would have had a better secondary, but he was right where he was supposed to be."

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers