After the Lions traded up for Brian Branch in the second round of the draft, for a player many viewed as a first-round pick, Brad Holmes got a text from one of Branch's college teammates: Jameson Williams.
"When Brad drafted him, I texted him, 'He's a dawg,'" Williams said. "When we played at Bama together, he just showed me something you won't see from a lot of DB's, man. He can play in the box and he can come out here and guard somebody. That's real good. I love BB's game."
That's what the Lions saw in Branch during his time in the SEC. And that's what Branch is starting to show them in training camp. In fact, the way he's played so far, the do-it-all defensive back is pushing for a starting job in a suddenly deep and talented secondary. Asked last week what he's seen out of Branch in practices, Dan Campbell answered rhetorically: "What have you seen out of Brian Branch?" Point was, we've all seen the same thing: a really good player making a lot of really good plays.
“It’s early, but he’s one of those guys, you kind of see the lightbulb," Campbell said. "What showed up on tape in college is beginning to show up already, up here, quickly. He’s an instinctive guy. He’s got some ballhawk ability."
Branch flashed that ability on consecutive plays toward the end of Saturday's practice. Playing nickel with the first-team defense against the second-team offense -- defense up 10, about three minutes to play -- Branch closed hard and fast to break up an out route from Nate Sudfeld to Dylan Drummond. On the very next snap, Sudfeld slung a pass down the sideline for Drummond, who's had a really nice camp himself, and Branch won the the ball in the air and came down with the pick. In this scenario, it would have sealed the game.
Soft-spoken, Branch isn't one for attention. Thing is, he's demanding it with his play. He agreed to a couple questions Saturday and said, "I think I'm acclimating pretty good." Consider that an understatement.
“Just gotta take each practice day by day, get one percent better, get more into the playbook and build this chemistry out here with these guys, my teammates," Branch said. "It’s a good thing. I think we're going to be special this year.”
It's hard to believe after last year, but those words ring true. Branch is one of four new playmakers in the back of Detroit's defense. C.J. Gardner-Johnson has been been every bit as advertised as a free-ranging ballhawk, Cam Sutton looks like the No. 1 corner the Lions have been missing since the departure of Darius Slay and Emmanuel Moseley, expected to start opposite Sutton, hasn't even hit the field yet. He'll have to win the job from Jerry Jacobs when he does. The group is so deep that Tracy Walker has been running mostly with the twos. Kerby Joseph isn't going anywhere. Branch, meanwhile, is going nowhere but up.
Helps that he can play everywhere, a lot like Gardner-Johnson. As Branch said after he was drafted, "I’m trying to get on the field any way I can, whether it be corner, safety, nickel, wherever they want me." And that's how Aaron Glenn and the Lions are using him. It's not just the versatile coverage skills that stand out. Branch got home on a blitz in a scrimmage earlier this week, a good reminder that he racked up 14 tackles for loss last season -- most in the country by a defensive back.
Earlier this week, Holmes said the Lions have a few rookies "coming along a little bit quicker than we thought." Third-round defensive tackle Brodric Martin is one. You can bet Branch is another. The Lions didn't really think they'd need Branch this season, deep as their secondary now appears. But no team in today's NFL can have enough good defensive backs, where depth charts are routinely thinned out. Branch has a sturdy 6'0 frame, and knows how to use it.
"He’s making plays," said receiver Marvin Jones, the Lions' most experienced offensive player. "One thing that sticks out is his physicality, his physicality at the break point. I think everybody’s seeing that. When the ball’s in the air, it’s like, you really gotta go to the ball, because he’s going. He has good make-up speed and he loves to punch it out. He’s been making some great plays, and that’s great for us."
"Dawg," said Moseley. "He's a dawg. Always been a dawg, will be a dawg."
"He just plays the game the style of how we want to play," said Holmes.
Branch will get another test this week when the Giants come to town for joint practices, followed by the preseason opener Friday night. The intensity will rise, and so will the stakes. But one thing is already clear about this 21-year-old: "He’s not out of place," said Campbell.
"You can see him grow. He is wired right. He’s got a chip on his shoulder. He goes to work, and he just wants more," Campbell said. "He wants more, he wants more, he wants more. We’re happy with where he’s at, at this point.”
Branch is far from content. He remains fueled by his slide at the draft, where he stuck around an extra day to hear his name called, walk across the stage shake hands with Roger Goodell. A few months later, he looks like (he might be) a steal. The Lions' secondary was shredded last season, but the gains on paper are showing up on the field -- where Brian Branch is proving he belongs.
"Just gotta keep going," he said. "Anything I can do to help the team win, that’s my main focus. I just want to win.”
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