Detroit Lions rookie CBs shine at 1st padded practice; Dan Campbell reacts

Mike Moraitis

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Detroit Lions rookie CBs shine at 1st padded practice; Dan Campbell reacts image

The Detroit Lions finally strapped the pads on for the first time at training camp on Monday and two rookies, cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr., rose to the occasion.

According to The Athletic's Colton Pouncy, the Lions' first two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft stood out on Monday, with Arnold and Rakestraw making multiple impressive plays.

Here's what Pouncy wrote on each:

Both Arnold and Rakestraw were standouts, in my opinion. Rakestraw, a physical corner at Missouri, always felt like a guy who’d separate when the pads came on. That’s exactly what he did. He got the best of Williams in a one-on-one tackling drill. In one-on-one drills between receivers and DBs, Rakestraw beautifully read a slant route from Maurice Alexander — almost running the route for him — and nearly picked it off. On his next turn, Rakestraw broke up a pass over the middle to Tom Kennedy with a big hit.

Arnold also came ready for the first day of pads. He had a good rep in the one-on-ones against Tre’Quan Smith, breaking up a pass. On another rep, he was step-for-step with St. Brown — no easy task — and was only beaten by excellent ball placement. He got a little handsy with Williams during an overthrown deep ball rep as a team period unfolded, but didn’t allow much separation and ran stride for stride with him.

Here's a look at one of the plays Rakestraw made:

Ahead of Tuesday's practice, head coach Dan Campbell confirmed that he was pleased with how both performed.

"I like the first day of work for both of them," Campbell said, per Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News. "Both of those guys are competitive... they don't mess around for rookies. They're trying to win the rep and they're trying to get better. ... They were ready for the challenge of it."

Arnold is expected to grab a starting role on the boundary opposite Carlton Davis in his first season, while Rakestraw is battling for the starting slot cornerback job against Amik Robertson, although it isn't clear how many snaps will be available there, as it's unclear how much Brian Branch will play at safety.

Mike Moraitis

Mike Moraitis Photo

After cutting his teeth with Bleacher Report, Mike Moraitis has covered the Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans for FanSided, and the Titans and New York Giants for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. On top of his duties with Sporting News, Mike is the managing editor and lead writer for Titans Wire.