Big Board ranking: #12

Positional ranking: #1

 

Overview

Position: S

College: Alabama

Class: Sophomore (RS)

Age: 21

 

Measurables

Height: 5’11 3/4”

Weight: 189 lbs.

Arm length: 31 5/8″

Hand size: 8 7/8″

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.50 sec.

10-yard split: 1.54 sec.

Vertical jump: 37.0″

Broad jump: 129.0″

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

 

Strengths

Outstanding playmaking instincts. Great ball skills and production. Ideal overall size and length. Tremendous speed and acceleration. Attacks the ball in the air aggressively. Recovery burst and timing allows him to make up ground and play the ball. Very good mirror skills in close man coverage. Physical and stays on the hip of opponents in press coverage. Gets his head around to locate the deep ball and will reach up to deflect it. Terrific ability to get a hand in to break up passes at the catch point in general. Upside to be an exceptional zone defender. High intelligence and play recognition. Excellent technique and mindset in run support. Breaks down effectively in space. Aggressive coming up to tackle on outside runs. Consistently works to slip/shed blocks and position himself to tackle. Will take on offensive lineman around the line of scrimmage. Defeats blockers and makes the tackle versus wide receiver screens. Effective as a blitzer from the perimeter (both versus the run and pass). Mostly played left cornerback but slid into the slot when needed. Stuck with Georgia tight end Brock Bowers on a couple of snaps against him (2023).

 

Weaknesses

Needs to clean up technique versus sharp in-breaking routes. Takes some false steps in man coverage. Allows too much separation in cushion coverage and will get turned around on route breaks. Can be a little slow and out of control opening up vertically when giving a cushion. Needs to fall off in cover-3 versus deep crossers that reach his side of the field. Would like to see him sprint to the ball when far away from the action (had a couple of chances to get there at the end of a long play).

 

NFL comparison

Jevon Holland

 

Conclusion

Overall, Arnold is a well-rounded defensive back with tremendous playmaking instincts and top-tier ability in run support. Despite playing cornerback at Alabama, his best chance of becoming an impact, All-Pro defender might be with a transition to safety.