Lions' rookie Terrion Arnold compares himself to three legendary corners, can he have rookie years like them?

The Detroit Lions went out and got their man in the first-round of the 2024 NFL Draft when they traded up to the 24th pick to get Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold. After all this time, it's still crazy the way the draft worked out to get Arnold to Detroit.

Arnold has been outspoken so far and he's said some fun stuff like saying that he would jam his mothers nose in the dirt if she were a receiver. The one thing that's really stuck out to us actually came ahead of the draft.

Arnold spoke with the God Bless Football Podcast during draft week and when asked who he would compare his game to, he said that he was a mix of three of the best cornerbacks of all time.

“I will say I'm a mix of Deion Sanders. Darrelle Revis, [and] Jalen Ramsey. I'm definitely gonna develop into that…I'm gonna develop into the best corner in the NFL definitely same way I did in college, but I will say, the reason why I say all three of those [is] because the attributes that come with them.

So Deion Sanders.. coming to the game, man, [people think], 'I don't know what's going to happen today, but I know Terrion is going to do something amazing.' Darrelle Revis: shut down mentality, no safety help, [and] physical. He's stronger than it may appear. That's the same with me. I'm a strong dude, but I don't think people really understand, like, how strong I am until I get my hands on you. Until you really get in the game, and it doesn't matter who you are, I don't think. I'm getting ready to go in and make a tackle, I just go. You gotta be like that.”

It's cool to compare yourself to another player. You see that a lot. This was different though in the sense that he's comparing aspects of himself to aspects of other players.

On Friday we found ourselves wondering what those guys looked like during their rookie seasons and if Arnold could go out and have a similar year in 2024. Let's take a look.

Deion Sanders

Sanders had a pretty solid rookie season. He played in 15 games and started 10 of them. Sanders picked off five passes and forced two fumbles. Passes breakups weren't a stat at the time, so we don't know how many he had. That's a pretty good rookie year. If Arnold were to do something like this, that's probably Rookie of the Year type stuff.

Darrelle Revis

Revis played in 16 games and started all 16 of them. He picked off three passes and broke up another 17. He ended the season with a 73 grade from Pro Football Focus. PFF also noted that Revis allowed a reception percentage of 62.1%. They tracked him allowing 59 receptions for 748 yards and four touchdowns.

Revis had an ok rookie year. It was really his second season in which he began to be a lockdown guy and the Revis Island was born. Still, if Arnold has a rookie year like that, that's not bad at all.

Jalen Ramsey

Ramsey played in 16 games and started all 16 of them. He picked off two passes and brought one of them back for a touchdown. He broke up another 14 passes. PFF gave him a 72.8 grade for the seasons and tracked him allowing a reception percentage of 52.9%. They have him allowing 54 receptions for 703 yards and three touchdowns.

Like Revis, it was Ramsey's second year where he exploded and became one of the league's best corners.

The big takeaway we have here is that some of the best cornerbacks of all time have had relatively pedestrian rookie seasons. They were all good, but they were all pretty doable for most first-round rookie corners.

If Arnold were to have a year like any of the three guys he compared himself to, that's a big win for the Lions. It seems like it's the second year that we really want to look at. That's where we'll be able see if Arnold is a good corner or a great corner.

Related: 4 potential surprising cuts from around the NFL that would best fit the Lions