The Detroit Lions got a good one in defensive back Brian Branch, who had a stellar rookie campaign while serving as the team's slot cornerback.
And his impressive first season in the NFL didn't go unnoticed. In ESPN's annual rankings of the top-10 safeties in the league based on the opinions of coaches, executives and scouts, Branch was listed as an honorable mention.
"Has natural coverage ability so that allows him to play in the slot or over the top. He's also an instinctive player that has a knack for finding the ball and making plays in both phases," an NFC personnel evaluator said in the article.
While he played primarily in the slot last season, the Lions have suggested they may expand his role to playing more at safety in 2024. Whether that means full time or part time remains to be seen, though.
Considering Branch has just one year of NFL experience under his belt, his inclusion as an honorable mention is quite the compliment and further shows just how good he was in 2023. Assuming he takes the step forward we all expect him to in 2024, Branch has a great shot to crack the top 10 on next year's list.
Branch wasn't the only Lions defensive back to be mentioned in the article. In the "also receiving votes" section, safety Ifeatu Melifonwu was listed. The Syracuse product had a career year in 2023, but it's still surprising to see him getting recognized like this nationally.
The Lions' other safety, Kerby Joseph, was not mentioned at all in the article even though he had an impressive campaign himself. Hey, guess we can't have it all.
