After a successful first season in the NFL playing in the slot, the Detroit Lions are at least toying with the idea of giving defensive back Brian Branch more time at safety in 2024, something the team discussed on multiple occasions during the offseason program.
And we saw that in the flesh at the first practice of training camp when, according to Erik Schlitt of Pride of Detroit, Branch saw time at safety with the first-team defense during walkthroughs.
He did not take part in team or individual drills, though, which was to be expected on the same day he was activated from the PUP list.
At safety, Branch and Kerby Joseph were with the starters during walkthroughs, but Branch didn’t participate in individual or team drills, making way for Ifeatu Melifonwu to take the remaining first-team reps. This is nothing new or unexpected but does point to the Lions working toward Branch seeing more time deep in the secondary. As Branch heals, I do expect them to continue to give him more looks in the slot later on in camp.
On Thursday, head coach Dan Campbell spoke about Branch playing more safety this year, saying that the team is weighing its options, of which they have plenty thanks to additions to the secondary during the offseason.
"We just feel like (playing safety) can suit (Branch) well and give him a chance to see where he can go with it," he said, per The Athletic's Colton Pouncy. "We have options now and we've got some guys we think pretty highly of in the secondary room and it's all about finding the right combination."
With Branch at safety and sitting out drills, the Lions had Emmanuel Moseley in the slot, with Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and Terrion Arnold on the boundary.
Of course, that was with both Carlton Davis and Amik Robertson sidelined after being placed on the active/non-football injury list earlier in the day. Both players were activated by day's end, though.
Davis figures to take Rakestraw's Day 1 spot moving forward, and Robertson will likely compete for the slot job, along with the Missouri product and Moseley.
If Branch moves to safety full time or even simply just sees more snaps there, it would be bad news for either Kerby Joseph or Ifeatu Melifonwu, both of whom started in 2023. Based on the pecking order in Wednesday's practice, Melifonwu could end up being the odd man out when Branch is back deep.
