Terrion Arnold doesn't mind being put on an island. In fact, he'll set up camp and put a roof on it.
The Alabama All-American is Daniel Jeremiah's top-ranked cornerback (No. 9 overall prospect) at the NFL Scouting Combine and stole the show during his media availability Thursday morning here in Indianapolis. The same thing is surely going on behind the scenes during his interviews with teams.
A native of Tallahassee, Fla., Arnold said his confidence comes from his grandfather, who is a roofer.
"I like to correlate roofing with football," Arnold said. "My granddad always told me on that roof, no one is coming to save you. So, when I'm on that roof and I'm on that 8x12, 10x12 and it's a high pitch walking up there, you're slipping on the fiberglass, you kind of get a little rocky, a little shaky, and you know that if you lose confidence in yourself, you're going to slip and fall. It's the same way with corner and being a human being. If you don't have that confidence to come in and take over a room and have that presence, nobody is going to have that confidence in you."
The Giants, who hold the No. 6 overall pick in the draft, have decisions to make in their secondary this offseason.
Cornerbacks Adoree' Jackson, who has started 36 games in three seasons with the Giants, and Darnay Holmes, a former fourth-round draft choice by the team, are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents when the new league year begins in two weeks. Safety Xavier McKinney is also set to hit the market at that time if he isn't tagged by March 5.
Arnold wants to be at the forefront of all 32 clubs' minds when they have to make decisions such as these. He told Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II as much at an Alabama draft party last year.
"I said coming out next year," Arnold recalled, "I'm going be the best corner in the class."
Plenty of others are trying to make that case this week, including his college teammate Kool-Aid McKinstry.
"It's why you go to Alabama," Arnold said. "Kool-Aid and I, man, we're very close knit, very tight. When I'm looking at him, if he's on the right side and he just made a play, I'm like, OK, man, if they throw this ball my way, I've got to make a play. It's friendly competition. We challenge each other, we make each other better, and that's why we're both here."
NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah released his updated ranking of the top 50 prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft.
No. 47 Roman Wilson, WR, Michigan
No. 49 Marshawn Kneeland, Edge, Western Michigan
No. 40 Ricky Pearsall, WR, Florida
No. 41 Payton Wilson, LB, N.C. State
No. 46 Ja'Tavion Sanders, TE, Texas
No. 38 Braden Fiske, DT, Florida State
No. 45 Malachi Corley, WR, Western Kentucky
No. 44 Junior Colson, LB, Michigan
No. 34 Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia
No. 35 Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas
No. 36 Kamari Lassiter, CB, Georgia
No. 49 Jordan Morgan, OT, Arizona
No. 33 Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington
No. 42 Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon
No. 43 Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State
No. 36 Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama
No. 24 Graham Barton, IOL, Duke
No. 27 Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas
No. 37 Zach Frazier, IOL, West Virginia
No. 25 Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa
No. 38 Darius Robinson, Edge, Missouri
No. 30 Jackson Powers-Johnson, IOL, Oregon
No. 32 Jer'Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois
No. 20 J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan
No. 29 Bo Nix, QB, Oregon
No. 31 Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson
No. 21 Chop Robinson, Edge, Penn State
No. 28 Ennis Rakestraw Jr., CB, Missouri
No. 19 Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas
No. 26 Edgerrin Cooper, LB, Texas A&M
No. 16 Laiatu Latu, Edge, UCLA
No. 22 Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia
No. 23 Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma
No. 11 Troy Fautanu, OT, Washington
No. 17 Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU
No. 13 Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo
No. 14 Jared Verse, Edge, Florida State
No. 18 JC Latham, OT, Alabama
No. 15 Olumuyiwa Fashanu, OT, Penn State
No. 12 Dallas Turner, Edge, Alabama
No. 10 Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State
No. 8 Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
No. 9 Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama
No. 7 Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
No. 6 Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
No. 5 Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
No. 4 Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
No. 3 Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
No. 2 Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
No. 1 Caleb Williams, QB, USC
Here's what else you need to know from the defensive backs' media session in Indianapolis:
Cooper DeJean will work out 'at some point before the draft'
The Big Ten's Defensive Back and Return Specialist of the Year fractured his fibula in mid-November during a "freak incident" in practice and had to undergo surgery. DeJean said he started running full speed last week but won't work out at the combine. However, he plants to do so "at some point before the draft."
DeJean also confirmed that he has talked to a few teams about moving around from cornerback to safety.
"Being able to play multiple, different positions, I think that's an advantage," he said. "I feel like it's more about my versatility. I feel like I've proven that I can play outside and inside. Obviously, I haven't played safety in college. But I feel like I have the ability to play multiple, different positions in the back end."
"Mad" Max Melton brings Rutgers mentality
Wearing a chain that said "MADMAX" at the podium, cornerback Max Melton is looking to turn heads after collecting eight interceptions and four blocked punts in 43 career games at Rutgers.
"I feel like people have got to open their eyes more," said Melton, the younger brother of Packers wide receiver Bo Melton. "These DBs, Rutgers DBs in the league, I feel like we're making our mark. All credit to Greg Schiano, he has a line of DBs that he coached and are doing very well in the league. Rutgers DBs in the league – we're very smart, very disciplined, very athletic and we all get the job down. … I meet with teams and they're like, 'Oh, you're a Rutgers guy, you know football,' and I'm like, sure enough. I do know football. I feel like the physical attributes mixed in with the mental preparation, mix that all together and you're going to have a good player."
Toledo's Quinyon Mitchell can 'hit with the big dogs'
Mitchell climbed up four spots in Daniel Jeremiah's top 50 to No. 15 overall and the second-ranked cornerback behind Arnold. A big reason was what he showed at the Senior Bowl, which gives small-school prospects the opportunity to go against players from the powerhouses.
"[I showed] that I can hit with the big dogs," he said. "Going into that week, there was a lot of 'he can't play in good competition' and stuff like that. So just going and showcasing and dominating everybody [is what I did]."
View photos of NFL.com's list of the top 101 free agents of 2024.
No. 101 WR Michael Thomas
No. 100 S Micah Hyde
No. 99 QB Tyrod Taylor
No. 98 QB Gardner Minshew
No. 97 S Alohi Gilman
No. 96 OT Josh Jones
No. 95 QB Jameis Winston
No. 94 WR Tyler Boyd
No. 93 EDGE Brandon Graham
No. 92 RB J.K. Dobbins
No. 91 S Jordan Whitehead
No. 90 RB Austin Ekeler
No. 89 WR Odell Beckham Jr.
No. 88 CB Keisean Nixon
No. 87 LB Josey Jewell
No. 86 RB D'Andre Swift
No. 85 LB Willie Gay Jr.
No. 84 EDGE Leonard Floyd
No. 83 TE Noah Fant
No. 82 EDGE Shaquil Barrett
No. 81 S Geno Stone
No. 80 K Ka'imi Fairbairn (Update: The Texans and Fairbairn have agreed to a three-year contract)
No. 79 G Jon Runyan
No. 78 OT Yosh Nijman
No. 77 WR K.J. Osborn
No. 76 S Jeremy Chinn
No. 75 S Jordan Fuller
No. 74 LB Bobby Wagner
No. 73 EDGE Marcus Davenport
No. 72 QB Ryan Tannehill
No. 71 CB Adoree' Jackson
No. 70 LB Devin White
No. 69 LB Drue Tranquill
No. 68 CB Kristian Fulton
No. 67 CB Steven Nelson
No. 66 WR Darnell Mooney
No. 65 G Kevin Zeitler
No. 64 G Jonah Jackson
No. 63 OL Connor Williams
No. 62 DL Calais Campbell
No. 61 DT Denico Autry
No. 60 CB Chidobe Awuzie
No. 59 OT Jermaine Eluemunor
No. 58 OT Jonah Williams
No. 57 EDGE Dorance Armstrong
No. 56 DT D.J. Reader
No. 55 OT Trent Brown
No. 54 RB Tony Pollard
No. 53 G Kevin Dotson
No. 52 DT Grover Stewart
No. 51 WR Curtis Samuel
No. 50 CB Kenny Moore II
No. 49 LB Azeez Al-Shaair
No. 48 S Julian Blackmon
No. 47 EDGE Josh Uche
No. 46 DT Fletcher Cox
No. 45 C Andre James
No. 44 TE Hunter Henry (Update: The Patriots and Henry have agreed to a three-year contract)
No. 43 G John Simpson
No. 42 EDGE Jadeveon Clowney
No. 41 S Kamren Curl
No. 40 LB Lavonte David
No. 39 EDGE Andrew Van Ginkel
No. 38 LB Jordyn Brooks
No. 37 RB Josh Jacobs
No. 36 TE Dalton Schultz (Update: The Texans and Schultz have agreed on a three-year contract)
No. 35 EDGE Za'Darius Smith
No. 34 EDGE Chase Young
No. 33 WR Gabe Davis
No. 32 RB Derrick Henry
No. 31 QB Baker Mayfield
No. 30 QB Jacoby Brissett
No. 29 C Lloyd Cushenberry
No. 28 LB Patrick Queen
No. 27 G Robert Hunt
No. 26 LB Frankie Luvu
No. 25 CB Stephon Gilmore
No. 24 WR Marquise Brown
No. 23 S Kyle Dugger (Update: The Patriots have placed the transition tag on Dugger)
No. 22 S Xavier McKinney
No. 21 CB Kendall Fuller
No. 20 EDGE Bryce Huff
No. 19 S C.J. Gardner-Johnson
No. 18 DE Leonard Williams
No. 17 G Mike Onwenu
No. 16 WR Calvin Ridley
No. 15 EDGE Jonathan Greenard
No. 14 RB Saquon Barkley
No. 13 OT Tyron Smith
No. 12 WR Michael Pittman Jr. (Update: The Colts have placed the franchise tag on Pittman)
No. 11 CB Jaylon Johnson (Update: The Bears have placed the franchise tag on Johnson)
No. 10 WR Mike Evans (Update: The Buccaneers and Evans have agreed on a two-year contract)
No. 9 EDGE Danielle Hunter
No. 8 S Antoine Winfield Jr. (Update: The Buccaneers have placed the franchise tag on Winfield)
No. 7 DT Justin Madubuike (Update: The Ravens have placed the franchise tag on Madubuike)
No. 6 CB L'Jarius Sneed (Update: The Chiefs have placed the franchise tag on Sneed)
No. 5 EDGE Brian Burns (Update: The Panthers have placed the franchise tag on Burns)
No. 4 DT Christian Wilkins
No. 3 EDGE Josh Allen (Update: The Jaguars have placed the franchise tag on Allen)
No. 2 QB Kirk Cousins
No. 1 DT Chris Jones (Update: The Chiefs and Jones have agreed on a five-year contract)
