Following a rookie season in which defensive back Brian Branch played well in the slot, the Detroit Lions are now looking for him to do more in his second year.
What exactly does that entail? Well, the Lions are apparently hoping Branch can play more at safety, if not exclusively. Branch was billed as one coming out of college but saw very limited snaps at the position in 2023.
At the very least, Detroit could certainly use more options at the position, as the Lions are thin behind Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu. However, it would appear that the Lions might be looking for Branch to play there full time.
Lions defensive assistant Jim O'Neill said Branch could possibly see time at both spots, or just at safety.
"Last year they were a little more hesitant with BB (Branch) to just kind of fix him at one spot. Now that he's going into Year 2, I think we'll be more aggressive with him," O'Neil said, per Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. "He's the type of player you want to see out there on all three downs, so we're going to push him to that. At the end of the day, he still has to come out in training camp, and he has to take that job."
"In the role he had last year I thought he played really well as a rookie," he added. "Now it's, can he make the next jump as a second-year player and can he make the next jump maybe just being fixed as a safety or maybe being a safety and a nickel? That's all things we're going to figure out in training camp."
The Lions should have a lot more flexibility with Branch in 2023, mostly because they've made some significant additions to the secondary. Free-agent signing Amik Robertson and draft pick Ennis Rakestraw can both play in the slot, and Robertson has been getting reps there in practice this offseason with Branch sidelined.
It looks like we'll have a better idea of what the Lions plan on doing with Branch once training camp rolls around. Branch hasn't been able to take part in offseason practices as he recovers from an a procedure he had done this offseason, but he's expected to be ready by training camp.
