NFL teams spend a lot of time and money to breakdown and analyse prospects going into the draft. The evaluation process has become a science with pages of data and personal information about players and formulas put in place to optimise a team’s decision. Sometimes, however, teams struggle to obtain the right answer and have to take a more traditional approach.
According to Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold, a Las Vegas Raiders coach called him to inform him there was a coin toss to determine whether the franchise would draft tight end Brock Bowers or him in the first round, and it landed on Bowers.
“The Raiders’ coach, they called me after the draft, and they were like, ‘You know, we actually had a coin toss between you and Brock Bowers and landed on him.’ I was like, oh wow,” said Arnold on The Next Round Podcast.
Raiders asst. G.M. Champ Kelly on Terrion Arnold's coin toss claim: Can't confirm at all. https://t.co/coY3an0IVZ
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 9, 2024
It is unclear whether there was an actual coin toss that took place and Raiders Assistant GM Champ Kelly was unable to confirm the reports.
“Yeah, I can’t confirm that at all,” said Kelly per a recent piece from Pro Football Talk. “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.”
Arnold dropped down to the No. 24 pick before eventually getting picked up by the Detroit Lions with their first round pick.
The difference between a winning and losing season can come down to a few strong draft picks. It will be interesting to see how the decision to pass on Arnold works out for a Raiders that has made the playoffs just once in the last seven seasons.
