Eagles Were Right To Pick Quinyon Mitchell Over Terrion Arnold -- Another HR for Front Office

Two years ago, the Philadelphia Eagles were faced with a pivotal decision with the No. 22 pick.

There were multiple first-round caliber cornerbacks on the board, the main two being Quinyon Mitchell and Terrion Arnold. Should the Eagles go for the defensive back that played top-level football in the SEC or the player that played at an immensely high level at small-school Toledo?

Based on how the Eagles drafted in the high rounds in the years leading up to 2024, Arnold seemed to be the pick. Not only did Arnold play at Alabama, but he led the SEC in interceptions in his junior year (5).

A productive player from college football's dynasty at the time. Seems like a home run pick right?

The Eagles pivoted. They decided to trust their character and scouting department and took Mitchell at No. 22. The decision already turned out to be the right one.

Mitchell is already a better player

From his firts training camp until now, it was pretty easy to see Mitchell wa sgoing to be a special player. Learning how to play defense at a high level by corvering A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, Mitchell held his own against the Eagles dynamic duo.

The success translated to the football field. Mitchell was the runner up for Defensive Rookie of the Year and allowed just a 22.6 passer rating in the playoffs his rookie season. Mitchell was a First Team All-Pro last year, as opposing quarterbacks had just a 39.6% completion rate targeting him.

Mitcehll still doesn't have a regular season interception yet, but he has four interceptions in five playoff games. He's allowed just a 32.4 passer rating to opposing quarterbacks in the postseason.

He's accomplished all this in just two years.

Arnold has just one interception in the regular season and allowed six passing touchdowns (Mitchell has allowed three). He hasn't been the playmaking corner he was at Alabama, and hasn't come close to the impact on the secondary Mitchell has.

The Eagles got this one right, even before last week's off-field incident occurred.

Arnold's arrest sealed this one

The Eagles certainly saw a better judge of character in Mitchell than Arnold. Mitchell is a soft-spoken player that would rather watch film in his room and play video games.

Football is Mitchell's life, something that NFL teams covet.

Arnold, meanwhile, is facing felony charges of armed robbery and kidnapping. Authorities have accused Arnold of leading a plot to detain and pistol-whipped three people he believed had stolen from him in February. The incident occurred three days after personal property worth more than $250,000 was reported stolen from Arnold and others in Florida.

Arnold turned himself in, but has denied his involvement.

Whatever becomes of the case, this is certainly a black eye towards Arnold's career. The Lions will have to let the case play out, but this will be difficult for the franchise and Arnold going forward.

The Eagles, meanwhile, have Mitchell terrorizing opposing quarterbacks as one of the shutdoen cornerbacks in football. They chose Mitchell over Arnold and got the pick right.

General managers are always reminded when they get a pick wrong, like Howie Roseman was for years with Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson. They should also be acknowledged when they get a pick right.

Mitchell over Arnold was the right decision by Roseman and the Eagles front office -- in more ways than one.

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