Alabama CB Terrion Arnold Fits the Mold for Broncos' HC Sean Payton
Every year at the high-profile scouting combine, it could be said that we are witnessing the NFL's equivalent of speed dating. The truth is, finding a suitable dance partner in Indianapolis remains very much marooned at the somewhat awkward feeling out stage of proceedings.
Inevitably, any of these potential relationships will require even more compatibility studies to be undertaken, especially before anybody is deemed worthy of tangible commitment.
That being said, having a clear vision of what you are looking for in a player is fundamental to Denver Broncos HC Sean Payton's ongoing recruitment process.
"We are looking for goal-driven players and athletes that are unselfish to some degree," Payton declared on Tuesday. "I would say that one trait is that we use the term 'grit' a lot, but that ability to get up time and time again and overcome adversity."
Thus far, finding the glove that fits the hand just right has unsurprisingly involved many short meetings with a succession of talented collegiate quarterbacks.
The trouble is, the hotly anticipated run-on signal callers might just leave the Broncos hastily reaching for their Plan B for the 12th overall pick they currently hold. Should the nuclear scenario come to pass, don't be surprised if finding another cover corner to pair opposite outstanding All-Pro Patrick Surtain II doesn't suddenly take precedence.
Terrion Arnold of Alabama is a name that has popped up in several mock drafts as it relates to the Broncos, and the AP All-American certainly likes the idea of joining forces with Surtain II.
"Yes sir I met with them," Arnold positively confirmed his recent meeting with the Broncos. "Playing next to Pat [Surtain II], it would be like playing next to Kool-Aid [McKinstry]. You would have somebody at the next level that you could look at that could challenge you, push you to be better. He's already proven it in the NFL, so I would love to do that if I had the opportunity to do that.
Indeed, Arnold bears all the hallmarks of a polished performer who cut his teeth at a heavyweight college program, yet the 6-foot, 196 lbs corner is still only a tender 20-year-old.
Furthermore, his blue-collar upbringing spent looking up to his gritty and hard-working grandfather appears to mesh perfectly with what Payton is searching to unearth in "goal-driven" players.
"My grandad was a roofer, so I like to correlate roofing with football," Arnold said via APNews.com. "My grandad always told me on that roof no one is coming to save you, so when I'm on that roof and its high-pitch walking up there, you're slipping on the fiberglass, you kind of get a little rocky, a little shaky, you know that if you lose confidence in yourself you're going to slip and fall. It's the same way with cornerbacks."
Of course, ceremonially breaking some bread with Payton and Co. might not cast anything in stone for Arnold and the Broncos just yet. What it does establish, however, is that Arnold's a player they might want to get to know a whole lot better. Plus, Payton is fully aware of how important first impressions can be.
"The interactions in the meetings are important because for a lot of us-maybe the scouts, not so much - but for a lot of us, it's the first time we are getting introduced to a prospect," Payton explained. "Not just at quarterback, but all the positions. That first impression is important."
Reassuringly, floating any flat earth theories out there is not how Arnold has approached the pivotal interview process this past week in Indy. Instead, the former Bama standout has opted to confidently own each meeting room he's entered with focused intensity.
"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," Arnold said.
Sure enough, many experts will most likely put forth a counterargument that drafting Arnold would be the very definition of a luxury purchase for the quarterback-needy Broncos right now.
On the flip side, defending Kansas City Chiefs superstar QB Patrick Mahomes is only getting harder these days. Therefore, drafting another stellar performer to put out on the perimeter also makes perfect sense.
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