Raiders asst. G.M. Champ Kelly on Terrion Arnold’s coin toss claim: Can’t confirm at all.
Cornerback Terrion Arnold was drafted by the Lions with the 24th overall pick, but he said recently that he was told he was close to becoming a Raider.
Arnold said that one of the team’s coaches told him that it was “a coin toss” between him and tight end Brock Bowers that wound up landing on Bowers with the No. 13 pick in the first round. Raiders General Manager Tom Telesco said after the draft that Bowers was “a consensus guy” and assistant G.M. Champ Kelly had a chance to address Arnold’s claim when he spoke to reporters on Wednesday.
“Yeah, I can’t confirm that at all,” Kelly said, via Vic Tafur of TheAthletic.com. “Terrion is a good player. I’m excited to watch his career and watch him play. But we drafted Brock, and we’re excited to get him here. And I don’t think anyone else in our whole draft room felt any other way.”
Given all of the time spent scouting players and putting together draft boards, it seems unlikely that a team would literally or figuratively flip a coin while on the board with the 13th overall selection. It’s even less likely that they’d admit it if that were the case, especially when they wound up with a player who could make a huge impact on their offense for years to come.
