Talib: Carlton Davis-Terrion Arnold Are 'Gonna Be a Top Tandem'

Carlton Davis and Terrion Arnold have potential to be productive cornerback duo.

Detroit Lions cornerback Carlton Davis III (23) practices during mini camp at Detroit Lions headquarters and practice facility in Allen Park on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Detroit Lions will enter the 2024 season with a revamped secondary – and most notably, an overhauled cornerbacks room.

Gone are the likes of Cam Sutton and Jerry Jacobs, and in are corners such as veteran Carlton Davis and rookie Terrion Arnold. Davis and Arnold are expected to comprise Detroit's starting cornerback duo in 2024.

Lions general manager Brad Holmes traded for Davis, formerly of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, to start the offseason, and later drafted Arnold, an Alabama product, in the first round of this past April's NFL Draft.

Davis secured two interceptions in his last season with the Buccaneers, while Arnold recorded five picks in his final campaign with the Crimson Tide.

Former NFL defensive back Aqib Talib, for one, is bullish about the prospects of a Davis-Arnold tandem this upcoming season.

“Man, I can’t wait to watch the Lions and Terrion Arnold, mainly because (of) Carlton Davis. He has an NFL vet on the other side of him. That’s gonna be a top tandem, I’m calling it right now,” Talib said on the Kay Adams-hosted FanDuel TV show, ‘Up & Adams.’ “They'll be a top tandem in the league in terms of cornerbacks, just because Arnold is a ballhawk. Last year, he had five or six interceptions in college. If you get interceptions in college, you get interceptions in the league. It always translates. Carlton Davis, I’ve always been a fan of Carlton Davis.”

Aqib Talib thinks that Detroit Lions CB’s Carlton Davis and Terrion Arnold will be a top CB “tandem” in the NFL this season 🤯

“I’m calling it now… they’ll be a top TANDEM in the league as far as cornerbacks”

🎥: @UpAndAdamsShow | #OnePride pic.twitter.com/GStX38TGfj

— Crunch Time Sports (@officialctpod) July 29, 2024

Holmes also notably added Amik Robertson and Ennis Rakestraw to the Lions’ cornerbacks group this offseason. Robertson is projected to garner reps at both outside corner and nickel corner in 2024, while Rakestraw is likely to be a key reserve in his debut NFL season.

Meanwhile, Brian Branch, Detroit's primary nickel and most productive cornerback a season ago, is expected to slide over to safety in place of the departed C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Branch is part of a safeties group in the Motor City that also includes starters Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu.

Talib, just like a variety of pundits going into this season, is high on the Lions. 

“That revamped secondary, man, you add a guy to the trenches, the Lions are gonna do big things, and their cornerback tandem (Davis and Arnold) will be a huge part of it,” Talib expressed.